Consumers 'rationing' energy to beat fuel costs

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Consumers 'rationing' energy to beat fuel costs

Wed 3rd Feb 2010

Householders appear to be trying to conserve the amount of energy they have been using during the cold snap to keep their bills low, it has been suggested.

Commenting on Scottish and Southern Energy's interim management statement, uSwitch.com said that high energy bills are such a worry to some people that they will deliberately use less fuel.

The supplier reported that it saw a year-on-year decrease in the amount of energy used this winter, implying that homeowners were turning their heating down through the cold snap.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, said: "Self-rationing in this way is the biggest warning sign yet about the affordability of energy."

She advised switching to an online energy plan, as this can reduce the cost of bills by an average of £300 and would mean that households would not have to go cold amid worries about fuel costs.

Consumers who are worried about power cuts were advised by uSwitch.com to keep torches and extra batteries close to hand if the lights go out.

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