Isle of Wight households will typically pay an extra £693 a year on their energy bills from April, local charity The Footprint Trust has warned.
The massive rise in energy bills will put further pressure on people already facing higher prices, rising taxes and benefit cuts. For those people on prepayment meters, there will be a rise from £1,309 a year to £2,017 for a typical household bill.
The average wage earner is likely to be £400 worse off than last year due to a combination of tax rises and inflation. Locally, Council Tax is set to rise by 2.99% plus local precepts such as policing, the fire service and town/parish councils.
The higher energy price cap means a typical household will pay £1,971 a year from April, 54% more than they pay now, with a further rise expected in October. The £693 a year rise will affect 22million households, with 4.5million customers on prepayment meters facing an even bigger increase of £708 a year.
The government has claimed that its £200 loan per household will ‘ease’ people’s anxiety over the price hike.
Speaking about the impending rises, Ray Harrington-Vail of The Footprint Trust has said:
“After waiting weeks for action on the pending biggest single energy rise for decades, the government has offered up a repayable loan. This does not tackle the issue of the fuel poor, which are those in most need…”
“Experts had called on the government to increase the Warm home Discount and Winter Fuel payments to help those faced with energy cost increases of over 50%, and to remove VAT from fuel bills. Instead the government has come up with a gimmick which gives the wealthy an interest free loan, and the poor a burden of debt.”
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The Footprint Trust has seen a record amount of Islanders contacting the Trust in recent weeks. They have been worried about their energy companies going out of business, massive increases in fuel costs and burdening debt. The Isle of Wight has one of the highest levels of fuel and child poverty in South East England.
Here are some of the basic tips which The Footprint Trust offers:
- If your energy company has gone bust download and keep your energy bills and take meter readings
- Inform your utility company if you are struggling with your bills, they will give you time to pay, spreading the cost over the summer months ahead
- Apply for the £140 Warm home Discount from your electricity company
- Ask Southern Water about the discounted Essentials Tariff, which could cut 20% off your water charges
- If you have vulnerable people in your household sign up for the free Priority Services Register with your utility company
- Keep your heating at 18 degrees, every degree over that costs about £80 a year extra
- Homeowners should insulate their homes if this not already been done, ask The Footprint Trust for details of subsidised schemes and other assistance by calling 822282.
Rest of the UK too, and many more areas worse off than the island .
BIG BROTHER, needs to scrap all vat and all green taxes on all fuel bills and make it an offence for any share holders to make any profit out of our missery. ( At least until the prices get back to normal ).
# AND THE RICH GET RICHER !
Hey, IE, what’s happened to my two comments on this subject ?
I thought they were very objective.
I bet the Scottish ain’t paying as much as the English, as us English tax payers subsidies all the Scott’s to keep the SNP at bay.
I also noticed on the news that our government are giving away thousands and thousands of pairs of woolly socks to help keep warm this winter.
( No joke, FACT ).
Most are struggling to pay this and huge increase of the council tax. Not just the spongers, who we continue to subsidise with all the different benefits.
Many thousands of essential workers worked throughout the last 2 years and very few will get much of a pay rise.
You can bet your life that the MP’s and councillors will make sure they get a big pay rise.
They will just claim through their ” expenses “
They have already been claiming over £2000 to cover their energy bills, which is non repayable, but we will get £200 and have to repay it over the next 5 years
Council Tax up 2.99% and still the island doesn’t get a dedicated Road Policing Unit to catch all the speeders in their noisy cars and bikes!
Serious question here..
What would happen if we all just didn’t pay it…
Never ever get a smart meter. No matter how much they badger you.
If you have one, the electric company can cut you off, just by the flick of a switch which is situated at their HQ.
If you have a normal meter, they have to ask your permission to go onto your property. ( They don’t tell you that in there propaganda advertising, do they ).
Surely, only if you don’t pay your bill!!!
your paying for them anyway its in the bills ever since they came out and for ever so might as well have one
I don’t know about building more housing they need to build poor houses like they had in days gone by! We won’t be able to pay our moregage/rent or any bills! So they can shove us all in there out the way!
A lot of employers are benefitting from ‘working from home’ when private houses need to heated and offices don’t.
I saw the other day a council car pull up in a council carpark the driver got out then got into another council car and drove off no ticket on both cars. This is all very wrong and very corrupt
Please explain what offence you detect here.
What would be the point of the Council charging itself to park its own vehicles in its own car park?
Why would a council worker need two cars? And if we pay they should pay as we pay their wafes
So you explain why we should foot the bill for them
And sorry i put concil carpark i should have put public carpark but as i say we pay so they should pay
the council corrupt? no never…
Perhaps the Footprint Trust could do something about getting the Winter Fuel Allowance paid to state pensioners increased?
It has been £200 for at least 10 years, probably maybe even longer back to when it started in 1997.
What with inflation and the huge bills coming it needs to be increased especially for older people that are at home all day to have some help with bills next winter.
Why is it that are energy prices are likely to rise by 54% while the French rise is about 4% have they stopped eating snails and are now burning them
brexit ill expect good move that one..ill bet we are the only country paying the highest amount ..i bet ya…
yep and more …bring it on never to return to where it is now..never…