Households could face an extra £70 on their January gas bills as
the cold weather continues to grip the nation.
The figure - which is a 52% rise on last year - means that the
average gas bill for the month could reach a whopping £227,
according to price comparison service Energyhelpline.
It said the typical heating and hot water bill increased by 28p
for every 1C fall in the outside temperature. With temperatures
around 7C colder than usual this will amount to £60.76 over a
month.
On top of this it expected electricity usage to increase by 15%
as a result of more people staying in, which would add £9 to
average monthly bills.
Mark Todd, director of Energyhelpline, gave warning that many
households will be unable to meet the rising cost of gas.
"This is going to have a significant impact, because if the cold
weather lasts a month we're talking about an extra £70 on people's
gas bills, and that's an increase of more than 50 per cent, which
is quite a big dent in the budget," he said.
Fears were also raised over the welfare of thousands of elderly
people thought to be struggling to heat their homes, after an
elderly couple were found frozen to death in their home in
Northamptonshire at the weekend.
Andrew Harrop, head of policy at Age Concern and Help the Aged,
said: "Last year, one in three pensioner households spent the
winter in fuel poverty. With energy bills still high and the
prolonged cold snap likely to force people to heat their homes for
longer, we are concerned more older households will end up spending
a tenth or more of their income on gas and electricity bills, thus
falling into fuel poverty."
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