A family says new price cap rise on energy bills means they will face choosing between paying for food and electricity.
Today Ofgem confirmed an 80% rise in the price cap – sending the average household’s yearly bill from £1,971 to £3,549 from October 1.
Mum-of-three Rebecca Bryant, 31, said her electricity bills have already doubled and her gas trebled in recent months.
Rebecca, who lives with her boyfriend John Wynn, 45, and their daughter Lilly Wynn, seven, in Lydney, Glos., now fears she’ll have to choose between food and electricity.
Already living on frozen food, the family are now considering selling their family car to make ends meet.
Deaf
Rebecca, who is currently unemployed but cares for her daughter Lilly who has learning disabilities and is deaf in one ear, said: “We are already struggling to manage.
“We still have to manage until September 7 with no money and I still have to pay out for electricity as I am on pay as you go.
“I also need to buy food and a school uniform for my daughter this week as well.
“I might have to choose between going food shopping and putting more electric on.
“I’m finding it harder and harder every month with the increasing of everything going up.
“We have been thinking of getting rid of our family car so it can save us money too.
“It’s getting harder for us to live off freezer food as my partner has just been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and gallstones so we have to be really careful with what we eat, but I do try to do batch cooking.
Anxiety
“It’s going to be even harder to manage with the price cap going up.
“I just don’t know how we are going to manage, but I guess we have to just try and save, but that’s really hard to do when we are already finding it hard to cope.”
The family survives on Universal Credit (roughly £1,300 a month), disability benefits (£340 a month), child benefits (£84 a month) and carer’s entitlement (264 a month).
Rebecca’s boyfriend John is also currently unemployed and has been receiving sickness universal credit allowance for his depression and anxiety.
After rent, the family said they receive £1,116 to live on.
Rebecca said: “In April, we spent £457 on food shop, £148 rent on top of the housing benefit, £133 on transport, £200 on bills, £46 on car insurance and tax and £147 on leisure.
“We’ve felt the stress and the punch of the cost of living crisis but feel so sorry for the families out there who don’t get the extra help that we do from our disability and sickness entitlements,” she said.
“I can’t imagine how hard it is for them.”
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