Citizens Advice called on 9 August 2022 for further support for households facing higher energy bills, responding to the latest Cornwall Insight forecast for the price cap. The charity said the government's existing targeted support would not be enough, and that benefits should rise to keep pace with the cost of living.
Morgan Wild, Head of Policy at Citizens Advice, said the cost-of-living crisis was already having a devastating impact, and that the charity hears every day from people who cannot afford to turn the lights on or cook their children a hot meal1.
"The government did the right thing by bringing in targeted support, but it won't be enough for people to manage these previously unthinkable price hikes. The obvious place to start is to increase benefits to keep pace with the cost of living. There's no time to waste."
The charity also reported a rise in prepayment meter problems. Citizens Advice supported more people unable to top up their prepayment meter in June 2022 than in January 2022, and said the issue is at record levels1. The figures behind that comparison, and the size of the forecast increase in the cap, have not been reported in the material published alongside the response.
Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and post, providing supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers1. It operates as a national charity alongside a network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales, and runs the Citizens Advice consumer service, which can be reached on 0808 223 1133, or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh speakers1. The organisation says it helped 2.6 million people face to face, by phone, email and webchat in 2017-18, and that its staff are supported by over 23,000 trained volunteers at over 2,500 locations in England and Wales1. Its role and the wider landscape of energy consumer bodies cover advice, complaints and supplier performance data.
Why it matters for households
The price cap sets the maximum a supplier can charge for each unit of gas and electricity on a default tariff, so a forecast rise translates directly into higher standing charges and unit rates for millions of homes. For a household already at the limit of its budget, the practical effect is less room to absorb a further increase, and a prepayment meter that cannot be topped up means no supply at all. The charity's report that more people could not top up in June than in January points to pressure that is not confined to the winter months.
Benefits set in cash terms lose value as prices rise, so the gap between income and bills widens unless payments are uprated. For a home trying to reduce its exposure to volatile prices, the options are limited by income, tenure and the building itself, which is why the level of energy bill support and the uprating of benefits are central to how far a household can control its own energy independence.
What happens next
Citizens Advice has set out its position ahead of the next price cap announcement. No date for a government decision on benefit uprating, and no further detail on additional support, has been reported.