The Energy Bill Emergency Has Just Begun

For those of us who came of age during that time, it felt like a generation-defining economic shock. Unfortunately, I now realize that I may not even be close to holding that title. During the full five-year recession from 2007-08 to 2012-13, British living standards fell by a cumulative 3.4%, with the group hardest hit – people on the highest incomes – squeezed by almost 5% . Fast forward 10 years and UK inflation has hit a 40-year high of 10.1%, while the average energy bill is on track to more than double by next spring. The coming months are set to deliver the biggest cut to Britain’s real disposable household income since records began, brutally upending the tide of who suffers the most. Even in mid-summer, ahead of the expected rise in energy bills for the fourth quarter, huge numbers of British households are being pushed to the brink. In July alone, 2,271 people told the charity Citizens Advice they were unable to top up their pre-paid energy meter, leaving them unable to turn on the fridge or cook food. The corresponding figure at the height of last winter was 1,444. With longer, cooler nights on the horizon and the October bills announcement just a week away, most attention has focused on how to mitigate the icy grip of the winter months, but the worst may not arrive until spring. Both the government’s existing support packages and Labour’s proposed account freeze only cover the six months from October to next March. However, the latest forecasts from industry analysts Cornwall Insight and Auxilione place the peak in charges in April, when annual charges could rise to as much as £5,000. In the absence of any new support, in the spring, disposable income after housing costs will fall by almost 7% in real terms across the population, according to analysis by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. This is by far the largest contraction since records began in 1961. Monthly outgoings for the poorest tenth of households would be £155 higher next April than today, immediately wiping out 17 per cent of net income. For a group whose after-tax income already falls short of covering basic expenses, this would be nothing short of disastrous. The typical household in this category has just over £1,000 in liquid financial wealth to fall back on. They will burn through these stocks in just five months at April-level prices, with no room to cut elsewhere, rather than choosing between heating and food. Far from being a problem solely for those at the bottom of the income spectrum, a survey by Citizens Advice this week found that one in four British households will be unable to pay their energy bills after the cap is expected to almost double prices in October. More than half of this group do not qualify for the two £325 support payments the government provides to people on benefits. This pervasive precarity highlights how little leeway many British households have. Even in the near half of the income distribution, where households were saving around £150 a month before the cost of living crisis hit, April’s bill rise would see all those savings evaporate further, absent significant cuts to discretionary spending , which will overturn them. in deficit. And in a comfortably above-average household with a gross income of around £45,000, April’s rise could wipe out up to two-thirds of monthly savings. Millions of British households are already financially underwater and a tsunami is crashing down. To avoid disaster, new support packages must be rolled out well in advance of spring and must go well beyond what is already on the table for October. [email protected]@jburnmurdoch

title: “The Energy Bill Emergency Has Just Begun Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-19” author: “Wayne Dubose”

For those of us who came of age during that time, it felt like a generation-defining economic shock. Unfortunately, I now realize that I may not even be close to holding that title. During the full five-year recession from 2007-08 to 2012-13, British living standards fell by a cumulative 3.4%, with the group hardest hit – people on the highest incomes – squeezed by almost 5% . Fast forward 10 years and UK inflation has hit a 40-year high of 10.1%, while the average energy bill is on track to more than double by next spring. The coming months are set to deliver the biggest cut to Britain’s real disposable household income since records began, brutally upending the tide of who suffers the most. Even in mid-summer, ahead of the expected rise in energy bills for the fourth quarter, huge numbers of British households are being pushed to the brink. In July alone, 2,271 people told the charity Citizens Advice they were unable to top up their pre-paid energy meter, leaving them unable to turn on the fridge or cook food. The corresponding figure at the height of last winter was 1,444. With longer, cooler nights on the horizon and the October bills announcement just a week away, most attention has focused on how to mitigate the icy grip of the winter months, but the worst may not arrive until spring. Both the government’s existing support packages and Labour’s proposed account freeze only cover the six months from October to next March. However, the latest forecasts from industry analysts Cornwall Insight and Auxilione place the peak in charges in April, when annual charges could rise to as much as £5,000. In the absence of any new support, in the spring, disposable income after housing costs will fall by almost 7% in real terms across the population, according to analysis by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. This is by far the largest contraction since records began in 1961. Monthly outgoings for the poorest tenth of households would be £155 higher next April than today, immediately wiping out 17 per cent of net income. For a group whose after-tax income already falls short of covering basic expenses, this would be nothing short of disastrous. The typical household in this category has just over £1,000 in liquid financial wealth to fall back on. They will burn through these stocks in just five months at April-level prices, with no room to cut elsewhere, rather than choosing between heating and food. Far from being a problem solely for those at the bottom of the income spectrum, a survey by Citizens Advice this week found that one in four British households will be unable to pay their energy bills after the cap is expected to almost double prices in October. More than half of this group do not qualify for the two £325 support payments the government provides to people on benefits. This pervasive precarity highlights how little leeway many British households have. Even in the near half of the income distribution, where households were saving around £150 a month before the cost of living crisis hit, April’s bill rise would see all those savings evaporate further, absent significant cuts to discretionary spending , which will overturn them. in deficit. And in a comfortably above-average household with a gross income of around £45,000, April’s rise could wipe out up to two-thirds of monthly savings. Millions of British households are already financially underwater and a tsunami is crashing down. To avoid disaster, new support packages must be rolled out well in advance of spring and must go well beyond what is already on the table for October. [email protected]@jburnmurdoch

title: “The Energy Bill Emergency Has Just Begun Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-20” author: “Agustin Leite”

For those of us who came of age during that time, it felt like a generation-defining economic shock. Unfortunately, I now realize that I may not even be close to holding that title. During the full five-year recession from 2007-08 to 2012-13, British living standards fell by a cumulative 3.4%, with the group hardest hit – people on the highest incomes – squeezed by almost 5% . Fast forward 10 years and UK inflation has hit a 40-year high of 10.1%, while the average energy bill is on track to more than double by next spring. The coming months are set to deliver the biggest cut to Britain’s real disposable household income since records began, brutally upending the tide of who suffers the most. Even in mid-summer, ahead of the expected rise in energy bills for the fourth quarter, huge numbers of British households are being pushed to the brink. In July alone, 2,271 people told the charity Citizens Advice they were unable to top up their pre-paid energy meter, leaving them unable to turn on the fridge or cook food. The corresponding figure at the height of last winter was 1,444. With longer, cooler nights on the horizon and the October bills announcement just a week away, most attention has focused on how to mitigate the icy grip of the winter months, but the worst may not arrive until spring. Both the government’s existing support packages and Labour’s proposed account freeze only cover the six months from October to next March. However, the latest forecasts from industry analysts Cornwall Insight and Auxilione place the peak in charges in April, when annual charges could rise to as much as £5,000. In the absence of any new support, in the spring, disposable income after housing costs will fall by almost 7% in real terms across the population, according to analysis by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. This is by far the largest contraction since records began in 1961. Monthly outgoings for the poorest tenth of households would be £155 higher next April than today, immediately wiping out 17 per cent of net income. For a group whose after-tax income already falls short of covering basic expenses, this would be nothing short of disastrous. The typical household in this category has just over £1,000 in liquid financial wealth to fall back on. They will burn through these stocks in just five months at April-level prices, with no room to cut elsewhere, rather than choosing between heating and food. Far from being a problem solely for those at the bottom of the income spectrum, a survey by Citizens Advice this week found that one in four British households will be unable to pay their energy bills after the cap is expected to almost double prices in October. More than half of this group do not qualify for the two £325 support payments the government provides to people on benefits. This pervasive precarity highlights how little leeway many British households have. Even in the near half of the income distribution, where households were saving around £150 a month before the cost of living crisis hit, April’s bill rise would see all those savings evaporate further, absent significant cuts to discretionary spending , which will overturn them. in deficit. And in a comfortably above-average household with a gross income of around £45,000, April’s rise could wipe out up to two-thirds of monthly savings. Millions of British households are already financially underwater and a tsunami is crashing down. To avoid disaster, new support packages must be rolled out well in advance of spring and must go well beyond what is already on the table for October. [email protected]@jburnmurdoch

title: “The Energy Bill Emergency Has Just Begun Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-31” author: “Peter Haas”

For those of us who came of age during that time, it felt like a generation-defining economic shock. Unfortunately, I now realize that I may not even be close to holding that title. During the full five-year recession from 2007-08 to 2012-13, British living standards fell by a cumulative 3.4%, with the group hardest hit – people on the highest incomes – squeezed by almost 5% . Fast forward 10 years and UK inflation has hit a 40-year high of 10.1%, while the average energy bill is on track to more than double by next spring. The coming months are set to deliver the biggest cut to Britain’s real disposable household income since records began, brutally upending the tide of who suffers the most. Even in mid-summer, ahead of the expected rise in energy bills for the fourth quarter, huge numbers of British households are being pushed to the brink. In July alone, 2,271 people told the charity Citizens Advice they were unable to top up their pre-paid energy meter, leaving them unable to turn on the fridge or cook food. The corresponding figure at the height of last winter was 1,444. With longer, cooler nights on the horizon and the October bills announcement just a week away, most attention has focused on how to mitigate the icy grip of the winter months, but the worst may not arrive until spring. Both the government’s existing support packages and Labour’s proposed account freeze only cover the six months from October to next March. However, the latest forecasts from industry analysts Cornwall Insight and Auxilione place the peak in charges in April, when annual charges could rise to as much as £5,000. In the absence of any new support, in the spring, disposable income after housing costs will fall by almost 7% in real terms across the population, according to analysis by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. This is by far the largest contraction since records began in 1961. Monthly outgoings for the poorest tenth of households would be £155 higher next April than today, immediately wiping out 17 per cent of net income. For a group whose after-tax income already falls short of covering basic expenses, this would be nothing short of disastrous. The typical household in this category has just over £1,000 in liquid financial wealth to fall back on. They will burn through these stocks in just five months at April-level prices, with no room to cut elsewhere, rather than choosing between heating and food. Far from being a problem solely for those at the bottom of the income spectrum, a survey by Citizens Advice this week found that one in four British households will be unable to pay their energy bills after the cap is expected to almost double prices in October. More than half of this group do not qualify for the two £325 support payments the government provides to people on benefits. This pervasive precarity highlights how little leeway many British households have. Even in the near half of the income distribution, where households were saving around £150 a month before the cost of living crisis hit, April’s bill rise would see all those savings evaporate further, absent significant cuts to discretionary spending , which will overturn them. in deficit. And in a comfortably above-average household with a gross income of around £45,000, April’s rise could wipe out up to two-thirds of monthly savings. Millions of British households are already financially underwater and a tsunami is crashing down. To avoid disaster, new support packages must be rolled out well in advance of spring and must go well beyond what is already on the table for October. [email protected]@jburnmurdoch

title: “The Energy Bill Emergency Has Just Begun Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-10” author: “Earnest Mayer”

For those of us who came of age during that time, it felt like a generation-defining economic shock. Unfortunately, I now realize that I may not even be close to holding that title. During the full five-year recession from 2007-08 to 2012-13, British living standards fell by a cumulative 3.4%, with the group hardest hit – people on the highest incomes – squeezed by almost 5% . Fast forward 10 years and UK inflation has hit a 40-year high of 10.1%, while the average energy bill is on track to more than double by next spring. The coming months are set to deliver the biggest cut to Britain’s real disposable household income since records began, brutally upending the tide of who suffers the most. Even in mid-summer, ahead of the expected rise in energy bills for the fourth quarter, huge numbers of British households are being pushed to the brink. In July alone, 2,271 people told the charity Citizens Advice they were unable to top up their pre-paid energy meter, leaving them unable to turn on the fridge or cook food. The corresponding figure at the height of last winter was 1,444. With longer, cooler nights on the horizon and the October bills announcement just a week away, most attention has focused on how to mitigate the icy grip of the winter months, but the worst may not arrive until spring. Both the government’s existing support packages and Labour’s proposed account freeze only cover the six months from October to next March. However, the latest forecasts from industry analysts Cornwall Insight and Auxilione place the peak in charges in April, when annual charges could rise to as much as £5,000. In the absence of any new support, in the spring, disposable income after housing costs will fall by almost 7% in real terms across the population, according to analysis by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. This is by far the largest contraction since records began in 1961. Monthly outgoings for the poorest tenth of households would be £155 higher next April than today, immediately wiping out 17 per cent of net income. For a group whose after-tax income already falls short of covering basic expenses, this would be nothing short of disastrous. The typical household in this category has just over £1,000 in liquid financial wealth to fall back on. They will burn through these stocks in just five months at April-level prices, with no room to cut elsewhere, rather than choosing between heating and food. Far from being a problem solely for those at the bottom of the income spectrum, a survey by Citizens Advice this week found that one in four British households will be unable to pay their energy bills after the cap is expected to almost double prices in October. More than half of this group do not qualify for the two £325 support payments the government provides to people on benefits. This pervasive precarity highlights how little leeway many British households have. Even in the near half of the income distribution, where households were saving around £150 a month before the cost of living crisis hit, April’s bill rise would see all those savings evaporate further, absent significant cuts to discretionary spending , which will overturn them. in deficit. And in a comfortably above-average household with a gross income of around £45,000, April’s rise could wipe out up to two-thirds of monthly savings. Millions of British households are already financially underwater and a tsunami is crashing down. To avoid disaster, new support packages must be rolled out well in advance of spring and must go well beyond what is already on the table for October. [email protected]@jburnmurdoch