UK gas and electricity prices have increased at twice the European average in the last year.
According to recent inflation statistics from the organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), UK energy bills rose 29.7% in the past year compared to 15% in the EU. In Germany the increase was just 12.2%, while in France prices were up 14%.
The average annual household energy bill now stands at around £1,300 in the UK, and charities estimate that as many as five million households are now in fuel poverty – defined as anyone spending more than 10% of income on energy.
Worryingly, Brits will only feel the full force of this year’s 30% hike when we enter the high-consumption winter months.
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“Free rein to hike prices”
Ed Mayo, CEO of energy watchdog Consumer Focus, says it's clear that UK consumers are “being clobbered faster and harder” than others in Europe.
“Other countries may be doing more to keep their prices down and we should learn from them,” says Mayo. “The UK has a relatively free market, but the freedom to cut prices in the early years seems now to be the freedom to raise prices with impunity.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the organisation that represents the major UK energy suppliers has disputed the OECD figures. The Energy Retail Association claims that British customers “have enjoyed historically very low prices” compared to Europe and the rest of the world.
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Use less, spend less
Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, says it is essential that households take matters into their own hands and start managing their energy for themselves.
"There are two key steps to this: Making sure we pay the lowest possible price for our energy and learning to use less of it,” says Robinson.
Certainly switching energy suppliers is always a good idea. Unfortunately, with suppliers changing their tariffs so often, this does not always result in a long term savings. The best way to achieve this is to ensure you choose a supplier’s online tariff (rather than the standard tariff) and pay by direct debit.
Insulation is another handy cost saving initiative. The cost of fitting loft or wall insulation has not increased dramatically in recent years, but the sky-rocketing cost of energy means the potential savings have.
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