A HEARTBROKEN mum of three has revealed the lengths she has to go to whilst unable to afford her electricity bills.
It comes as most households have been struck with painful price rises of almost £700 on their energy bills, amid an already crippling cost of living crisis.
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The single mum, known only as Zara, called in to radio station LBC to explain her harrowing situation.
“I’m on tax credits for the children and my income seems to go straight onto the bills and council tax,” Zara had revealed on the radio show.
“My children come first I’m there for them,” she said.
“They all say, ‘mum I’m fine’ but it’s the guilt I live with – so I try and make sure I give them a meal in the evening, and I’ll eat their leftovers.”
The single mum broken down in tears on the other end of the line as she explained just how hard her family had been hit by the rocketing bills.
Millions of households are now expected to fork out for higher gas and electricity bills because of the energy price cap rise.
Typical energy bills could hit £2,000 per year as of the change.
Households have been warned about a record rise in energy bills since February when Ofgem announced the energy price cap would rise to a record £1,977.
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The cap is in place to stop providers overcharging customers as wholesale prices are passed down, but it hasn’t meant that households have been able to avoid extortionate new costs.
This hasn’t been helped by more than 30 small energy suppliers exiting the market due to the rising costs.
That has killed off competition and left most people with only one choice to grin and bear.
On the call, Zara said: “I turned the boiler off a long time ago – we use hot water bottles.
“I’ve got jumpers on the children, and we have one meal a day – they go without breakfast.”
Zara is one of around five million Brits who fear they will not be able to pay their energy bills from April, Citizens Advice reports.
Charities have also warned 2.5million households are facing “fuel stress” as prices rocket.
If you are struggling with your bills then there are a number of charities and organisations which may be able to help:
You can also get help covering the costs of bills as they continue to rocket into next autumn too.
How to get help with energy bills
To help battle the cost of living crisis the government has outlined help for later in the year.
A £200 rebate is planned for all households to help lower energy costs in the short term.
This is part of a package of support designed to help Brits struggling as costs rise and will be applied automatically, but not until October.
The discount will need to be repaid in £40 annual instalments, starting from April next year for five years.
And park of the same package is the council tax rebate which many may have started to receive from the first of the month yesterday.
It won’t strictly bring your energy bills down, but the £150 is designed to help households battle the cost of living.
You’ve got to be in council tax bands A to D to get the cash – which amounts to around 80% of homes.
But there’s also things like the £300 winter fuel payment which helps cover pensioners’ energy costs during the harshest months.
And many will be able to claim through the recently upgraded Household Support Fund, where councils give out free cash and vouchers to hard-up families struggling to pay their bills.
Your energy provider might be able to help with a hardship grant too.
British Gas has just announced further funding for its version of the help, offering £2million more to those who are struggling.
You may also be able to get a budgeting loan from the Social Fund to help with intermittent expenses like cost of installing a prepayment meter or connection charges if you move home.
You’re more likely to be eligible if you receive pension credit, income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or income-related employment and support allowance.
Universal Credit claimants will need to apply for a budgeting advance – these are interest free loans, but must be paid back.
You will need to have been receiving benefits for more than six months before applying.
It’s best to check cash you can get that you don’t have to pay back before applying for a loan or advance.
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