New analysis from Citizens Advice Scotland has found that some 640,000 people across the country, around one in seven, are finding their energy bills unaffordable as a result of their low income and with gas and electricity bills set to increase in April, that figure is expected to rise.
Polling for Citizens Advice Scotland by YouGov revealed that 36 per cent of adults in Scotland find their energy bills unaffordable and of these, 40 per cent said low incomes were the main reason - based on population estimates of people over 18, this works out at around 639,227 people.
The study also discovered that 12 per cent found inconsistent incomes to be a major contributing factor in being able to afford their energy bills.
Citizens Advice Scotland is warning that the number of people who find their bills unaffordable could continue to rise as the energy price cap is set to increase by over 50 per cent in April for millions of households across the UK.
Last month, the charity launched its Big Energy Saving Winter, a campaign encouraging people to seek free independent and confidential financial advice to help manage increasing energy bills.
Citizens Advice Scotland Fair Markets Policy Officer, Michael O’Brien, said: “While energy bills have soared in recent months, it’s important to understand that households on low incomes were struggling with their energy costs beforehand.
“A quarter of Scottish households are living in fuel poverty, and that’s before the impact of the pandemic, and the crisis in energy markets, is accounted for.”
He continued: “With prices in the shops rising and a substantial increase to the energy price cap in April, the coming weeks and months could be very challenging for consumers on low incomes.
“People don’t have to feel alone, or powerless, as costs rise, the Citizens Advice network has been helping people for over 80 years.”
“We’d like to see policymakers focus on ways to get more money into people’s pockets, but we’re here to help people now.”
Citizens Advice unlocked around £147 million for people last year through things like:
- Benefit payments
- Employment entitlements
- Debt reductions
For energy advice people who saw a gain were around £272 better off.
Get help with your energy bills on the Citizens Advice Scotland website here.
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