By Derek Mitchell

Last week Ofgem confirmed a record increase to energy price cap, with bills set to soar (again) for consumers in April by almost £700.

This will have been a shock for many but it is something Citizens Advice Scotland has been warning about for months. Since December we have been running the Big Energy Saving Winter campaign, encouraging people to seek advice to deal with rising bills. In years past this campaign encouraged people to ‘switch and save’, but the crisis in the energy market means switching is no longer a good option for most consumers. With fewer options in the market, maximising incomes and better insulation for homes has been our key message.

Over the course of the campaign we have uncovered some troubling findings about the sheer scope and scale of unaffordable energy bills in Scotland today.

Polling for CAS by YouGov revealed that 1 in 3 in three of us find bills unaffordable. Dig a little deeper and we see some of the underlying causes for that. Almost 640,000 people would cite their low income as a reason for finding bills unaffordable, while almost 380,000 cite hard to heat homes.

Appallingly, almost half a million people have cut back on the weekly food shop as a result of unaffordable bills.

We are seeing increasing demand for advice across our network. Advice given out in relation to Utilities and Communications rose 17 per cent from November to December. Similarly, the number of people accessing webpages relating to grants and benefits to help pay energy bills increased 87 per cent from November 2021. That is more than five times the pre-pandemic figure.

Last week we released figures showing the link between demand for advice around food banks and the need for energy advice. During the pandemic 30 per cent of clients seeking food bank advice needed help with utilities as well.

This simply isn’t a sustainable position for people. April will be a nightmare scenario as rising bills and prices in the shops collide with flat or falling incomes, creating a perfect storm that could sweep millions of people across the UK into poverty, debt and destitution. The Scottish government estimate an additional 211,00 households will be pushed into fuel poverty by the price cap rise, meaning almost 1 in 3 homes in Scotland will be fuel poor.

The package of measures announced by the Chancellor last week is aimed at reducing costs for people of around £350. While any support is welcome, bluntly this isn’t enough. People who are already facing impossible spending choices are still going to be hundreds of pounds worse off.

We want to see the Barnett consequentials from the Chancellor’s announcement passed onto people on low incomes in Scotland who will be struggling the most.

Ensuring people get that support is vital. The CAB networked unlocked £147 million for people during the pandemic, with those who make a gain in energy advice being around £272 better off on average. We’ll be here for people during this crisis, as we have been in communities across Scotland for more than 80 years with impartial, confidential and free advice.

Derek Mitchell is Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Scotland.