Write The Week – Energy is not a luxury, but it feels like it is

‘Write the Week’ is a weekly blog written by our Remote Generalist Adviser Maya throughout the 2024 election campaign spotlighting the key issues that need to be addressed by politicians.

Like housing, energy has become a significant factor in the cost-of-living crisis. Private renters in a negative budget are spending nearly three-quarters of their income on rent and energy costs alone. Since 2021, the energy crisis has dominated public consciousness, but it is crucial we don’t become desensitised. Prices remain historically high and politicians need to grasp the real-life impact to ensure there is the political will needed for change after the election.

We have felt a seismic shift at Citizens Advice. Nationally, energy costs used to be outside of the top ten advice issues that we helped people with, but now it is number one. From January to May 2024 we helped 129,000 people with an energy issue. And whilst this crisis affects everybody, our data shows that it has a disproportionate effect on those on a low income. Households in the bottom two income deciles are spending 11% of their income on energy, whilst everyone else is spending 5.35%, showing that those on the lowest incomes are absorbing most of the shock. Energy costs are driving people into a negative budget.

Subsequently, we continue to break unwelcome records in the number of people we have helped who have not been able to put money on their prepayment meter. Prepayment meters can be a good way to manage the amount spent on energy, but if a person does not have the money to top up then they are vulnerable to disconnection. Astonishingly, in 2022 the number of people we saw who could not afford to top up their prepayment meter was higher than the previous ten years combined. Then, in 2023 the number was even higher, and 2024 is on track for similar numbers to 2023.

Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire has seen similar local trends. Back in 2020/21 fuel debt was the fifth most common debt issue that we helped clients with. This climbed to third in 2021/22 and then to second in 2023/24. What this tells us is that our clients are unable to keep up with energy costs and are being plunged into debt. But this does not quite capture the gravity of the situation. The actual numbers are far more revealing. In 2020/21 we helped clients with 190 fuel debt issues. In 2023/24 we helped clients with 581 fuel debt issues. This is an increase of 206%. 2024/25 looks on course to continue a similar trajectory. The country is still deep in the midst of the energy crisis.

Millions of people nationwide are living in fuel poverty and this can have a devastating effect on their physical and mental wellbeing. A person in a fuel-poor household is someone on a low income that cannot keep their home warm at a reasonable cost. This week I want to draw attention to the story of one young person who is living in fuel poverty and, more specifically, has experienced fuel crisis – not having the money to top up and being at risk of living today or tomorrow without heat, light or hot water.

Grace’s story – choosing between heating and eating

Grace is pregnant, and isn’t in paid work as she cares for her toddler. All of her income is from benefits, but this isn’t enough to cover her family’s essentials. Grace is worried about managing her debts, especially energy, and feeding her family. She’s already on a prepayment meter for gas and has electricity debt she can’t afford to repay. With little money left in her bank account, Grace is facing a really hard choice: does she pay for energy to keep the lights and heating on, or does she buy food for herself and her young child?

Grace’s story is a heartbreaking illustration of the energy crisis at its most extreme. She is forced to choose between two of the most basic essentials, energy and food. Not being able to heat her home might not be such an issue in the summer months, but without energy she won’t be able to cook meals or preserve food. And sadly this is indicative of a much wider trend. More than three million people were disconnected from their energy supply in 2023 because they could not afford to top up their prepayment meter. Living in a home with heat, light and water is not a luxury, but to many people it feels like it is.

This paints a concerning picture. It has been made clear that energy costs are a huge contributor to negative budgets and this means that addressing the energy crisis is crucial if we are to turn the tide on living standards. We are thus imploring prospective parliamentary candidates to listen to, empathise with and give support to those at the sharp end of the energy crisis. We have just one ask for the incoming government –

• Improve energy bill support by expanding eligibility for the Warm Home Discount and increasing support for those with the greatest energy needs. Citizens Advice’s model would lift 97,000 people out of a negative budget and reduce the shortfall for millions of others.

Our question to politicians: will you implement this policy in the first 100 days of government to alleviate the burden of the energy crisis on those who are struggling the most?