Energy will be ‘unaffordable’ by 2015

Energy bills are set to reach £1,500 in the next three years, making gas and electricity unaffordable for millions of households, uSwitch warned today.

A report by the comparison site claims that six in 10 homes will go without adequate heating by 2015, while more than a third will be forced to turn their heating off completely.

Research by uSwitch has found that energy prices have more than doubled in the past eight years and if the trend continues, bills could hit £1,582 a year by 2015 and £2,766 by 2018.

Almost a third of UK consumers say that household energy is already unaffordable, according to the study.

The average household energy bill today is £1,252 a year, just £248 short of the £1,500 tipping point at which three quarters of households would be forced to ration energy.

Worryingly, the forecast does not take into account the impact of the Government’s plans to cut carbon and switch to renewable generation.

Read more: A step-by-step guide on how to find the cheapest energy deals

Suppliers are already indicating that non-commodity costs or costs outside of their control could push bills up further.

British Gas has hinted at price hikes of around £50, while Eon is the only one of the Big Six so far that has promised no increases this year.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, said: “The UK is hurtling towards a cliff beyond which the price of household energy will become unaffordable.

“Once the average bill hits £1,500 a year consumers will be forced to compromise on their comfort, health and wellbeing.

“Time is running out – if pricing trends continue we will hit ‘crunch point’ in less than three years and that is without factoring in the cost of current energy policy.”

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