Ever get the feeling that despite reducing your energy usage your bills aren’t get any smaller? Well, it’s not just you – our research shows energy price increases of over £410 a year compared to a decade ago.
Interestingly, the Department of Energy and Climate Change stats show that we’ve cut down our energy use by 17% over the last decade. So we’re using less but not feeling the benefit when it comes to cost savings.
Our analysis shows yearly spending on energy has rocketed by 52%, over and above inflation.
This means households are shelling out an extra £410 per year on their energy bills, on average. And as Red Magazine succinctly put it in its response to our research, this means many of us will be wrapping up warm again this winter:
Annual energy prices now cost us £410 MORE than 10yrs ago – even though we use LESS *reaches for another chunky jumper* #RedsTalkingAbout
— Red Magazine (@RedMagDaily) October 17, 2014
Energy price increases
So how does this compare to other price increases? Well, the rise in energy costs are around five times greater than the rise we’ve seen in rents over the same period. Over the same time frame water costs have gone up by 62% and food by 42%.
With such massive energy price increases over the past decade, big reforms are needed. We hope these will restore confidence in the energy industry and give us fair prices.
At a time when rising energy prices are our number one concern, we think it’s shocking that people are paying more despite using less. That’s why it’s all the more urgent that government acts to give us confidence that the price we pay for energy is fair.
How much more are you paying for your gas and electricity these days? Do you think you’re actually using less energy than you used to?