Around 50% of households are cutting back their spending to pay soaring energy bills, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The findings highlight how families are struggling to shoulder the cost of sky-rocketing gas and electric bills as the UK continues to grapple with a cost of living crisis.
The ONS said the poorest households were hit the hardest by high energy bills - unsurprisingly.
The government statistics body said: "Energy price rises are likely to hit lower income households disproportionately, as they spend a higher proportion of their income on utility bills and are more likely to be in fuel poverty."
A third (32%) of those who said their cost of living had risen are cutting back on gas or electricity.
More than half (53%) said they were spending less on non-essentials, and around a quarter (26%) are dipping into their savings.
Have you been affected by this? Message mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
The poorest 10% of households typically have to spend 7% of their income on gas and electricity. That compares with the richest 10%, where it makes up just 2%.
The ONS said that the poorest 10% of households spent more than half (54%) of their average weekly cash on essentials such as housing, food and transport.
And that was for the financial year ending in April 2020 - before energy bills started rising.
Why are energy bills going up?
They are rising for several reasons.
Much of the increase reflects the soaring cost of gas, not electricity.
Reasons behind this rise include supply and demand, as there was a very cold winter in Europe last year.
British homes are heavily reliant on gas, making the problem worse.
Most homes (86.3%) have gas central heating, the ONS said.
Why energy bills are set to rise again
The cost of most energy bills is capped by the energy regulator, Ofgem.
This cap limits the amount firms can charge the average customer on their default gas and electricity tariffs - usually variable-rate deals.
This cap is currently £1,277 a year for those on default tariffs and £1,309 for those on pre-payment deals.
It is technically a cap on how much energy firms can ask you to pay for rates.
The price cap is being reviewed next week for England, Scotland and Wales - Northern Ireland has a different system.
Any changes would kick in from April.
It is overwhelmingly likely that Ofgem will raise the cap - meaning households will pay even more for energy.
Energy UK chief executive Emma Pinchbeck has previously warned that "domestic energy prices are going to go up 45% to 50% in the spring".
According to another expert, energy sector specialist Cornwall Insights, bills could rise by 46% as the price cap could rise to £1,865 a year.
Many energy firms have been unable to take the extra strain of rising gas prices they cannot pass on due to the cap, and have been forced to stop trading.
