Poorer households struggling to pay energy bills

Around a fifth of Britons told MoneyExpert.com that the latest batch of energy price rises are affecting them, with a quarter of poor households saying that they are “finding it difficult”.

“The rise in energy bills is really hitting home,” said Sean Gardner, chief executive of MoneyExpert.com. “There is a serious squeeze on spending.”

Findings come a week after Powergen became the latest energy firm to have raised their prices twice this year, making energy debt about 60 per cent more than in 2002.

Many are now fearing the creation of “fuel poverty” and the MoneyExpert research found that poor homes are spending twice the proportion of their income on energy than well-off households.

With debt and interest rates rising in conjunction with energy bills, Mr Gardner said that homes were facing increasing pressure just to get by and urged consumers to shop around for energy suppliers.