‘Horrifying’ energy price hikes will mean cold homes this winter, say support groups

Support groups have described the latest energy price hikes from SSE Airtricity as “horrifying” and said many families will be forced to let their homes go cold this winter.

SSE Airtricity said on Friday it was raising its standard household gas and electricity prices by 39 per cent and 35.4 per cent respectively from October 1st.

The move will affect about 250,000 electricity customers and 85,000 gas customers. The increase will add almost €600 a year to the average customer’s electricity bill and more than €500 a year to their gas bill.

One Family chief executive Karen Kiernan said the hikes would force many people to make hard choices around what bills to pay.

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“These latest hikes are just horrifying in terms of the scale of them,” she said. “They are so high and this is already with families and households facing massive cost-of-living increases. We work with a lot of families on low incomes so we know that families are already struggling. A lot of people are going cold because they can’t afford to pay their bills. It’s massively worrying,” she said.

“We know parents who don’t have enough to eat and who are struggling to pay rent and keep a roof over their heads. Children are also going back to school so families are struggling to work out what the most important bills to pay are. There is just huge fear around being cut off now.”

[ Number of homeless people in the State hits record high ]

[ Energy price hikes: SSE Airtricity announces major hikes to electricity and gas bills ]

She called on the Government to introduce “targeted measures” in Budget 2023 for the poorest families. “Certainly there should be no more universal supports,” she said. “Lots of people don’t need them and there are lots who need immediate and ongoing help with energy costs.”

Age Action spokeswoman Celine Clarke said older people would be among the hardest hit by the hikes. “These price increases will mean there will be older people at significant risk during the winter months because they will not be able to keep their heating on,” she said.

“The majority of older people are making changes to how they manage their money because they simply cannot afford the same goods and services they were able to afford in 2020. Some people are going without meat. Some people are reducing their use of the car. Unfortunately, some people are also reducing their heating. When the winter comes, that will have serious consequences on the health of some older people.”

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Ms Clarke said the group was calling for a €23 increase in the State pension. “Anything less than that will mean a cut in real terms to the living conditions of older people,” she said.

“We are also seeking an energy guarantee for older people as part of a reform of the fuel allowance. This would be a cash payment indexed to the changing cost of energy and linked to the energy rating of the home. This would ensure older people will have a minimum quantity of energy to keep their homes warm. Nine out of 10 older people rely on fossil fuels for home heating so they need a sustainable solution. Many of them will not be able to afford a heat pump or the retrofitting they need.”

Chill wind of winter

Society of St Vincent de Paul social justice research officer Issy Petrie said the group was “very concerned” by the increases ahead of the winter months.

“We are preparing for more suppliers to raise their prices in the coming weeks and we continue to work with households to support them with their energy needs during this time,” she said.

“Ultimately, the best way to protect people from energy poverty this winter is to make sure people have enough money to pay their bills. In the upcoming budget, the overall value of the fuel allowance must now be increased by paying it for 32 weeks and increasing the weekly amount by €15 in line with home energy inflation to a weekly amount of €48. This measure would cost €228 million.

“Households in work on low pay receive no support for energy costs. Budget 2023 should recognise this and extend the fuel allowance to recipients of the working family payment. This measure will cost €68 million.”

Last year there were over 35 price hike announcements from Irish energy suppliers and the trend has continued into this year with Bord Gais Energy, Energia, Electric Ireland and PrePayPower all announcing significant price hikes.

Almost 70 per cent of households would be plunged into energy poverty in worst-case scenarios drawn up for the State’s energy crisis oversight group by the ESRI.

SSE said the increases were due to volatility across global energy markets, and ongoing market uncertainty which has “impacted energy suppliers across Ireland and Europe”.