A woman with an allergy to the cold that means she must maintain a constant temperature in her home says the £2,500 energy cap bill isn't enough. Sam Newland, 50, has cold urticaria and develops rashes and painful welts on her skin when she gets cold.
Not only is there no cure, but the same symptoms are triggered by sweat. She has to have her heating on a constant 30C in winter - but keep fans on constantly around her home during hot weather.
Sam, a PA from Stevenage, Herefordshire, said her electricity bills used to be £48 a month and have crept up and up. She also has fibromyalgia and onset rheumatoid arthritis, so her symptoms worsen in the cold.
She worries she will be left at breaking point if she is forced to keep her heating off due to extortionate prices. After Liz Truss’ announcement last week to cap energy prices at £2,500 a year, her and husband, Andy, 60, a print finisher, are still going to be struggling this winter, she said. Sam must maintain her body heat between 26C and 27C, otherwise her skin becomes irritated.
She said: “It’s crazy, confusing, ridiculous and completely incomprehensible. We don’t have high-flying jobs, we’re not on super salaries - we break even every month.
“We’re going to be paying over half of what we do now. I don’t know where everyone will get the money from. I would need a salary increase of £10,000 to be able to afford the rising prices.”
Sam stressed how she doesn’t have the option to put more layers on, as the extra clothing irritates her skin further. She added: “It doesn’t work just to put another layer on, what should I do walk around like an abominable snowman?”
She worries for others who are in worse financial positions than herself. She said: “God forbid (what will happen to) people who don’t have our salaries, it’s going to be hard enough for us.”
If it gets to the point she can’t turn on the heating, the 50-year-old and her partner would have to move in with her dad. Before the announcement, her bills were set to rise to £300 a month, totalling £3,600 a year, but now they would be capped at around £208 a month for the next two years.
She said: “If I don’t have the heating on during winter I will be in dreadful pain. My welts will get bigger and more painful.”
