Energy bills top concern in cost-of-living crunch

This by some margin tops the list of worries by consumers, with the next highest being 12% of people who are most concerned about transport costs, while eight percent are worried about the rising price of food and other household essentials. In addition to this, 11% said they’re worried about all of them, while eight percent said they were not worried about any bills. 

When asked why they’re particularly concerned about energy bills, 78% said they’re worried about further increases while 51% are worried about it being less easy to go without energy than other things.

According to the figures, women are more likely to be either very or fairly worried about energy bills  - 69% compared with 60% of men - as are people aged 25-54 - 74% compared with 60% of those aged 55 and over.

In addition to this, people who are renting are more likely to be worried about energy bills than people living in owner-occupied homes  - 71% compared with 63%.

Commenting on this, Hargreaves Lansdown’s senior pensions and retirement analyst Helen Morrissey said “these concerns are well placed”. She added: “Households have already had to absorb an enormous hike in the energy price cap in April and the dread of a potential further £800 hike to come in autumn is very worrying.

“The government has stepped in with a package of measures designed to alleviate the worst of the cost hikes with payments being issued over the coming months. However, these may only prove to bring short term relief with prices likely to continue rising for some time to come. 

“We could see the government coming under further pressure as we approach Winter to offer more support. Reports are circulating that British consumers are already spending less in a bid to meet their mounting costs and their big worry about energy is that it’s much harder to cut back on than other things. 

“We are seeing more people adopting measures such as washing clothes at lower temperatures or keeping rooms not in use cooler in a bid to manage their costs - these will make a difference but will only go so far. 

“The reality is prices continue to race ahead and people will be left with harder choices about heating their homes as we approach the colder winter months.”

The study also found that, over the past 12 months, 28% of consumers had experienced problems in relation to their energy supply services - this is compared to 22% of people having issues with their broadband services.