Energy bill rise means people choosing heat or food

The number of people seeking help with their energy bills has increased dramatically, according to Citizens Advice.

During the 2023-24 financial year the charity dealt with 8,302 contacts over energy issues, compared to an annual average of about 900 before 2021.

Fraser Gleave from the charity's Reading office said energy bills and food bills were becoming "really hard to pay".

Adam Lee, who lives in the town, said after losing his job he was having to choose between heating or eating.

Mr Lee, 51, moved to Berkshire from Australia more than 10 years ago and said he was struggling to "make ends meet".

He lives in fully electric accommodation and he said paying his energy bills had completely deleted his savings.

"The cost of property and rental and then council tax rising with all those costs added up I've not been able to save up anything," he said.

"In Reading we have a lot of community fridges and safe spaces which are essential for me, and a lot of other people."

"I consider myself to be luckier than many," he added.

Citizens Advice said the number of people asking for support with fuel debt during the past year was more than 1,656.

That is four-and-a-half times the yearly average of 370 people from 2017-2021.

The charity has warned that by March it estimates the number of people asking them for help will have increased five-fold since 2021.

Mr Gleave said energy prices started to climb just as many Covid-related cost of living support schemes came to an end and the mortgage crisis took hold.

He said: "Enquiries to us then really increased through 2022 as the Ukraine crisis sent wholesale energy prices up by unprecedented levels."

Mr Gleave said Citizens Advice was seeing "more and more people in situations like Adam and worse as well unfortunately".

"Increasingly we are hearing from people where all the cost of living pressures are just mounting up," he said.

"It's very difficult to cope with the numbers of people who need support.

"We definitely have more people approaching us, than we are able to help."

He said they were also working with the energy redress scheme, which funds projects that support vulnerable energy customers, to provide more energy advice.

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