UK: 200 million unable to pay energy bills as costs soar

By Kathleen Marquardt

Over 200 million in the UK will be unable to pay their energy bills this winter, and the government is suggesting they purchase green housing or renovate their homes to be climate change friendly.

In an article at CURRENT News, the British independent charity organization Citizens Advice warns that over 200 million people in the United Kingdom will be unable to pay their energy bills this winter. Thus, their electricity and gas supply will be cut off. The organization revealed that in 2023, 1.7 million people disconnected at least once a month, and 800,000 people went more than 24 hours without gas or electricity.”

The situation is exceptionally grave. “On a national level, energy debt has hit a record £2.9 billion as households struggle to make ends meet and pay their essential bills.” In other words, their energy prices are skyrocketing, and many people can either eat or stay warm. Some have to opt for one or the other some days.

A few more points to note on this situation:

• 5.3 million people currently live in households in debt to their suppliers.
• Half (49%) of those in debt to their energy supplier have turned off the heating in their homes because of owing the supplier money for pre-existing bills.
• Households with children under four are reportedly twice as likely to be in debt and be forced to disconnect from their gas and electricity than those without children.
• Nationally in Britain, energy debt has hit a record £2.9 billion as households struggle to make ends meet and pay their essential bills.

This is enough to make a strong person cry, but the solution suggested should make everyone with a still-functioning brain bawl. The UK government has already “launched energy bill saving schemes, such as the investment of £16 million across 12 projects that aim to reduce electricity bills with cleaner and smarter energy”.

That sounds more than a bit ludicrous (“barmy” in the UK). It’s a contradiction in terms (several, to be honest): cleaner and smarter – they are called clean because they use wind and solar, which looks clean and natural. However, all of the materials require fossil fuels for their manufacturing. Smarter, only because the powers-that-be call it that; it is just the opposite.

More from the article:

Independent charity organisation Citizens Advice has warned that more than two million people will be cut off from their electricity and gas supply because top-ups are unaffordable. 

The research also suggests that one in four people cannot afford their essential bills and one in ten households has had to borrow money in the past six months to cover their energy bills. 

Moreover, almost three million people live in households where they have skipped meals, cut back on food spending, or sold or pawned possessions in the last year to save money to keep their meter topped up. 

The analysis also touches on energy debt, revealing that 5.3 million people currently live in households in debt to their suppliers.

The government has not provided new energy bill support for those in need and has run out of time to develop the long-term approach it promised by April 2024. Without immediate action, we risk re-running this same crisis every winter. 

And what are those energy bill-saving schemes? (Yes, they even admit they are schemes). “Fronting the cost of solar panels and heat pump installations, as well as setting up households with ‘green mortgages’. You might ask what a green mortgage is. Well, “A green mortgage is a mortgage specifically targeted at green buildings. As an incentive for the borrower to either buy a green building or to renovate an existing one to make it greener, the bank would offer them either a lower interest rate or an increased loan amount.”

What would the word for extremely barmy be in the UK? Serious folks, think about it. These people cannot afford to eat or heat their homes regularly and they certainly cannot invest in anything, especially buying or renovating a green building.

This is all about Net Zero. This is an attempt to meet the Paris Climate Goals by forcing nations to reduce emissions and become more reliant on renewables. And are they worth starving 200 million people? Here in the U.S., the average kilowatt hour for electricity is 12¢, but in Britain, it has soared to 39¢. All to pretend they are saving the environment when, in truth, wind and solar are causing significant environmental damage that cannot be fixed and harming people in the process.

To read more click HERE.

From cfact.org