Thousands of free electric blankets are being handed out to customers by an energy supplier as the cost of keeping homes warm soars to an all-time high. As gas and electricity bills rise, Octopus Energy will give out 5,000 blankets to customers most in need.
Heating just a blanket for one or two people should prove more efficient than trying to heat an entire room or house if you want to reduce costs. Octopus had 5,000 blankets to give out and said "stocks are very low". To receive their free blanket customers can use the company's online assistance tool which may also help with any other questions they have.
The blankets will be prioritised for those in the most financial need, depending on how many Octopus has left. Bills have rocketed for millions from the start of this month and the new financial year, with a national insurance tax hike, unprecedented fuel costs and inflation.
READ MORE: How to reduce your energy bills by not using your washing machine at certain times
But the biggest hitter by far has been the increased price cap on energy bills which saw regulator Ofgem increase the cap to £1,971 from April 1. The move means that the average household energy bill in the UK will go up by nearly £700 annually.
Experts have warned it will push millions into poverty and forced to choose between heating and eating.
According to Uswitch, it would cost 28p to use an electric blanket for an hour a night - over a week that would cost you £1.96. The actual amount will vary depending on your tariff, which blanket you use and how long you use it for, reports The Mirror.
Speaking today, the boss of Octopus Energy has said the company will help people struggling to pay their bills as he warned that energy prices could get even higher. Chief executive Greg Jackson said there is “no hiding” the fact that energy costs have risen “dramatically”, as he acknowledged the cost-of-living crisis is “very real”.
He said the “sad reality” is that many people lost their jobs during the pandemic and went from being able to pay their bills to finding them unaffordable. He told LBC: “Where people do their very best, companies like ours will work with them to get payment plans in place, to provide some assistance, to work with them on their whole income and expenditure.”
Mr Jackson said there are also people who can pay but choose not to, adding that a different approach has to be taken in that scenario. Warning that energy prices could rise even further in the winter, he said: “Global energy prices is one of the most volatile markets and so it’s a fool who will make a strong prediction.
“But what we do know is that the next energy price cap period is being set by the prices we’re seeing now, because there’s a sort of lag in the system. So, unless there’s a very rapid fall in the global prices, energy costs for people in the UK will stay high over the winter. They could even be higher. We just don’t know.
“But of course we’re now in a situation where there are two factors that really make a difference. (The) First one is whether there are any more strategic moves related to Russia, whether the gas taps get turned down or not. And the second is what the weather does.
“Essentially what matters now is, is Europe going to be filling its gas storage because we’ve got mild weather? Or is it going to be emptying it because we’ve got bad weather?
“So, depending on the weather between now and the winter, there could be a very big difference in energy prices in the next few months.” Mr Jackson was asked if he can promise that his company will not send the “heavies” round if people cannot pay and instead be “generous”.
Mr Jackson told LBC the challenge is that all those who do not pay add to the costs for everyone else. But he added: “We don’t send the heavies. We work with people to try and get them through times like this – listening, helping where we can.
“Our company has never sent the heavies round and we’re not going to."
