Energy bills are rising and hitting record levels. According to Goodto, energy prices are increasing from 28p to 52p per kWh. In this blog, we will look at the reasoning behind this, and what certain campaigns are doing to change the current climate.
What is happening?
Naturally, during winter, energy bills rise due to the cold weather and homeowners trying to keep their homes insulated. However, this year is noticeably the worst. An article written by Jessica Black from the BBC states that “bills are increasing roughly by £300 a year, according to the Consumer Council.” This will affect an average of 49,000 customers.
Why energy and gas bills are rising
One of the reasons for this inflation is due to the rising of wholesale prices. According to Thecapitalist these prices have peaked by 9.6%, making it the highest rate of increase recorded since November 2010. Another reason for this, is the ongoing war in Ukraine. The UK relies on Russia for oil, however the cost of oil has significantly increased since. It’s evident that Andrew Bailey, the bank of England’s governor, agrees that the reason that the energy and gas bills are rising are due to the war when he stated that “the Russian shock is now the largest contributing factor to UK inflation.”
Strikes
Because of the rise in energy bills in June, a campaign, known as the “don’t pay initiative”, was set up to cancel direct debit payments and has signed up more than 120,000 people. They aim for at least one million household owners to stop paying for their energy bills through direct debit from October 1st. They hope that this will put a financial strain on energy companies, forcing them to push to end the crisis. A quote from one of the participants mentions that “too many people in this country are happy to sit around and quietly grumble without taking action.” This shows how strongly campaigners feel towards those who lack to act against the inflation. Additionally, according to MSN, this campaign could affect people’s credit scores and potentially leave them in debt. Although this strike could affect many individuals’ financial status, the campaign argues that it is not illegal to not pay your energy bills.
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