They scare you with £5000 only to have you happy with £2500 which is double what you paid before. Not to mention we are still paying the energy companies the difference. Typical slight of hand .You must be mad if you are happy with this.😵💫
Yes I agree.. The great con has been accomplished with a degree of finesse too, :- making people wait weeks for 'salvation' so they are more likely to accept todays thin gruel. I suspect they became concerned by the huge backlash following the recent cap lifting announcements and realised they had gone too far.
Bottom line, even with all the 'help' and grants the price of energy has doubled since this time last year. We are I think supposed to be grateful that it is only to double (no mention from the government about what will happen to prices in October 2024 or when the bail out loans will have to be repaid - by us). These additional charges have been imposed despite there being no UK shortage of gas or oil or coal, and the fact that the energy producers have made billions in profits year on year since the 1970's (North Sea oil and gas fields). Record profits were projected for the energy producers during the next two years before the increased charges and the current caps were announced. Local energy suppliers (not to be confused with producers - they are just middlemen) have had a tough time - many have gone into bankruptcy because they were tied into long term supply contacts at a fixed price - their former customers are also in deep trouble. No plausible explanation has been offered by anyone for the increase in charges being made in the UK by the energy companies, but plenty of lies and nonsense has been offered as excuses. We are being robbed and the economy wrecked, at the same time as we are being told that we are being helped by a 'concerned' government. Anyone else remember Mrs. Thatcher announcing the bonanza discovery of oil in the North Sea from outside 10 Downing Street and declaring that this could mean free energy for UK residents? The important word was 'could'. When Norway developed their oil and gas finds in the North Sea they undertook to provide to their citizens very cheap, or even free energy in many cases, and honored that undertaking. They were scorned as 'socialists' by our government, who sold our energy industry to private enterprise.
Totally bang on..and Norway built a massive money reserve for all its people while the uk did the same for a few… greediest country on the earth in relation to how poorly it looks after its citizens…..ok ok USA
@@andreahodson7031 No Martin is not a government stooge! if you listened properly he made it very clear we would still be paying double. He doesn't have to bother with any of this at all, he didn't have to bother with lobbying Ofgem or the Government, and he doesn't have to bother showing people how to save money, get money back, get the best deals, he's been passionate about people getting fair prices refunds etc for as long as I can remember. If you don't want his advice click the unfollow I suspect you'll carry on spouting rubbish
Surely we’re not seeing this as a victory? £2,500 is still an absolute joke and at the cost of £140 billion that’ll have to be paid back in taxes, it’s not exactly a solution at all
In Parliament it was stated that the energy producers will make £175bn EXTRA in windfall profits over and above the profits they expected to make. A windfall tax of £140bn would still leave them with £35bn over and above what they expected to make.
Its not a joke, it's a reality and so not as bad as it would have been; and at least the government has helped. Can please people stop worrying,stop complaining and just be more grateful!!! It's very concerning that people can't accept difficult times, yet a previous generation went through war. This generation is weak, childish and complain all the time, it needs to get a grip and grow up!
@@RAPTUREATTWILIGHT SPOT ON. People need to get in the habit of taking any Government Action above the normal as a bonus and focus on doing more for themselves. Energy Crisis is NOT a problem created by us. People forget money doesn't grow on trees, and the deficit being created with all this support will be ultimately paid back by the Tax Payer. I'm sure, those on benefits who are probably on it out of choice rather than need don't really care, since they simply have us to pay for their bills.
people have to /should try & help themselves a little bit more .i bought a plugin throw 2 years ago sit watching tv like a slice of toast total cost in electricity 1pence per day . dont depend on someone else all the time
In Parliament it was stated that the energy producers will make £175bn EXTRA in windfall profits over and above the profits they expected to make. A 100% windfall tax could GIVE every household in the UK (all 28 million of them) a 4kw solar PV array with 3.6kwh of lithium batteries (total cost £6250 each). That would give every household 4000kwh of free electricity every year for the next 25 years. The average household uses 3760kwh a year. They never want to talk about domestic solar PV with batteries. I wonder why?
Even smaller arrays with batteries to charge electricity cars instead of all pulling off the grid at 6pm when you get home. I dont think they are interested in solutions only money to be made from the problem.
Solar is not the best choice for the UK, other than a few months in summer. I hear that money would be better spent on wind and tidal and leave the solar for those with a more equatorial outlook. Also Lithium is not that plentiful, expect cost to skyrocket with that sort of demand.
They only need to keep these prices after the energy crisis is over (having more energy production and replace it with more reliable sources, specially if produced by countries that aren't good allies), and make even more massive profits. Btw, tories get payed massive handouts by the energy sector, why do you think they weren't bluffing the increase to make tories look like they are helping ("it's just an over 100% increase, not 400%"). They (tories) let this shite brewing for months without a word on it. Why? And now no windfall tax, "we negotiated a cap for the next 2 years". How? Why? Are they part of the board of these companies?
My latest gas and electric bills were £350 combined for the month funny as I have not used any Gas since May but they insist I pay I told them no and will not. If the price cap comes in October my bills will be over 500 a month and I am a single parson living in a one bed flat. How is this even affordable still for the majority of people?
Are you on a tarif where you pay the same each month? In which case you’ll be in credit. But you may prefer to change to a variable if you don’t want to pay for gas when you’re not using it.
I’d question the fairness of what you’re being charged by your supplier. That’s about £140 more than my last combined bill, and I live in a 4-bed house with a family of 6. I currently pay £160 for gas and £90-something for electric.
Not possible. Unless you are just careless with your usage. We have an old large 6 bed house, last month we paid 150 for a family of 4. In the winter it will be higher though when we use start using the heating
Did he get the government to do something? No. This guy is a multi millionaire who gets kick backs from amazon, Tesco and the like...... from his website. He's no hero.
I'm appalled at how relieved I feel when I see petrol being sold for less than £1.70 per litre. It just goes to show what we're prepared to accept when we have no other options.
It’s £1.56 in Widnes bug diesel still at £1.77 that’s 90p a gallon more . Wth should be similar price all getting refined from oil and diesel is actually easier to refine needs less refining
Martin honestly I can’t thank you enough for all of your hard work over the years. The difference you’ve made to so many peoples lives including my own is invaluable. You really are one of a kind.
@@andreahodson7031 LOL probably! How can someone be so clued up about money and also be oblivious to the real effect of all this big government borrowing.
@@everready800 The goverment created billions to cover the infection and it caused inflation..but this £100 odd billion will reduce inflation..work that one out
It's disgusting that Truss won't hit the oil and gas companies with a windfall tax, despite the record profits they've "earned" throughout this crisis. So they'll just add the full cost on to the debt the peasants have to pay off through taxes. 🙄
@@dwatts670 Firstly - nonsense they are paying £5bn "windfall tax" - it was stated they stand to make £175bn in excess profits above what they expected to earn. We don't need "future investment" in fossil fools - we need PRESENT investment in renewables. For the £175bn they will steal from the British people we could GIVE every home in the UK (all 28 million of them) a 4kw solar PV array and 3.6kwh of lithium batteries (£6250 per household). That would save households £2500 a year - every year for the next 25 years. The £5bn windfall tax so far has been handed to people as £400 off their energy bills - which means it goes STRAIGHT back to the energy corps for something they were war profiteering on in the first place.
From £800pa this time last year, to now £2500 - That is a ~315% to our annual bill. How do they expect someone like myself with a disabled partner and young children I care for to afford this? - Oh here's £326 in June, and another £324 in the Autumn... Oh, well that brings the bill down to £1850, but you still think we have the money to pay that increase, when we now have to pay an extra ~£20pw on our food shopping for the same items... Let alone the fuel costs which is still ridiculously high. These Politicians need to stop lining their pockets, allowing these big corporations to make massive profits, so they get a nice slice of the pie... This does not fix the issue Liz, you need to do more for families like myself.
when you appoint garbage like Coffey to deputy PM after the deaths she has allowed & the fact that she is supposed to be a doctor yet said she owes no duty of care to anyone whatsoever on disability benefits, you know the tories do not care for or understand the struggles any person struck down by disease or disability will endure. My heart truly goes out to you. Utterly contemptible.
@@Camille_Anderson I don’t care what Thérèse Coffey says or does, to me she will always be the woman that happily cut the £20pw uplift from UC lumping millions into serious debt and then on the night he uplift expired, she was filmed doing karaoke singing a duet to ‘I’ve Had The Time Of My Life’. As far as I’m concerned that woman is nothing but pure evil. 🤬
I grew up in the 70’s we only had heat in 2 rooms, front room fire and the kitchen when cooking. I get it’s tough but let’s be honest, there are billions worse off then us.
Yes, spending the last 20 years getting people to borrow on 0% credit cards and then switching every few months has helped people accept debt in a way that was never thought possible.
Martin, it is still a 27% increase in the actual cost per kwh in October so that one off payment of £400 might lower the percentage rate to 6.5% on the average yearly cost but for families who use more than the yearly average like our family of 6, it will still be an expensive proposition since we use about £2500 per year on electricity alone at the October rates which i am estimating to cost 34p per kwh on electricity. We only use our gas central heating through 4 to 5 months of the year but i expect the gas to cost £2500 per year. I have thought about a biomass pellet boiler but unbranded pellets now cost about £600 per ton and i estimate 3 to 4 tons per year to heat the home so not much of a saving there unless we could get the renewable heat incentive payments which i suspect the government will make it difficult to claim the payments to begin with and will start to phase out the scheme eventually. I was disappointed that our government said nothing about separating the price rises of electricity from the rises in gas prices since the cost to generate electricity is cheaper than the wholesale price of gas. Allowing the cost of electricity to rise in line with gas will add to the cost of everything that is manufactured and increase inflation further.
I read the following, recently, that indicates that companies producing energy at the cheapest rate, sell it at the same price as companies that produce it at the most expensive rate. Perhaps Martin can investigate this, as it seems that, for the past several years, my energy from renewable sources was legally overpriced. “The price of generating electricity varies greatly. Gas at current spot market prices costs about £611 per megawatt hour (MWh). Nuclear is about £60 per MWh, hydro £50, and £50 to £140 for on and offshore wind and solar. The electricity delivered to our houses is from a mix of all these sources. Bizarrely, that’s not how the wholesale price is set here. It is decided on “marginal costing”, which works against consumers’ interests right now. It means the wholesale energy price is set so the most expensive producer can make a profit from the sales they make into the wholesale energy market. Gas produced electricity is the most expensive to produce - and likely to remain so for a long time. Its manufacturing cost, plus a fair profit margin, sets the wholesale price for all electricity, however it is generated. It also means nuclear, hydro and renewables producers are paid the price that the gas generators get. This makes no sense at all.”
Thank you Barry. So... if I set up a company that provides energy even more expensively - can I make a profit and increase further the amount everybody pays for that energy?
That’s how the market for everything works, you sell your product for as high a price as you can get. There is a shortage of supply which ramps up the price, this is driven by the gas price as the total demand is more than the total supply.
@@Tom-ih8gr Why is the UK exporting 75 million cubic meters per day to Europe if there is a shortage? How is it able to do so? There is no shortage. Among the other things said by government yesterday was that the Britain intends to become a net exported of energy by 2040 - where is that energy going to be found if it cannot be found now? Maybe from wind and solar farms, which currently provided a combined total of 3% of the energy produced ?
Exactly the increase we pay is not based on the production cost but falls in the hands of the free market place , so basically in Britain it seems we pay a market rally on the energy stock exchange. It's amazing how no one still clarify Britain's energy resources. Of course there is an overall effect from Russia cutting supply off, but countries that where not dependent from mother Russia could be more effective on price control.
No sense at all, I agree. It's because these people put capital in front of everything, detached from the real material world. A price is based solely on whatever you can get away with, while covering costs. I too was on an energy provider that claimed they were 100% green with electricity generated from renewable sources. Turns out it's just a financial scheme they pay into "green projects" to offset the energy they buy from undisclosed sources. The national grid is not separated according to the source, there's no way to discriminate. They buy the energy they sell us, they don't produce it or control production.
Still won’t help those who can’t afford to switch the heating on now though. Also still sucks that some will pay more than others. The standing charge and unit rate should be the same no matter how you pay for your services, and in reality, someone on a prepayment meter should get a discount since they are paying for their energy in advance and the energy company doesn’t have to cross their fingers that they’ll get paid unlike other methods of payment that work on credit/debt or quarterly billing. Also why do WE the taxpayer have to pay back this subsidy on our bills, if I go to the bank and borrow money I have to pay it back, they don’t expect my neighbour to pay it for me, same should apply here, the energy companies should pay back these loans/subsidies when this is all over, not us.
Irrespective of Mr Lewis personal wealth he has championed on behalf of the vast majority of the British public that were being traumatised by rising energy bills. His input has had an effect and for that I am very grateful 👏.
Well said, Ian, I pay £183 a month now for both gas/electric, I’m on my own I can’t afford anymore, I certainly won’t be having the heating on, only when it’s so cold the pipes will be safe, I’m hoping we have a mild winter 🥶
Thank you Martin for all your hard work on this. I have no doubt that you have made a big difference by bringing so much attention to this and lobbying on behalf of us all 🙏
Get ready to pay it all back next year just like we did with the cost of Furlough for everyone that stayed home during covid. Even though I worked through it all !
Ha ha. Exactly. No payments for me as well. Worked every day, same now. Of course because I work for my 4 kids and house including weekend I won't get help as apparently I earn too much. Great. Now I bet they will turn onto us to pay the debt they are mounting now, is that correct?
@@Haveagrated sadly I'm in the same position as you got 3 beautiful kids a house on mortgage only I work while my wife looks after the kids I'm having to do overtime and for each over time I get £80 after tax and the government gets £40 hardly seems fair being punished for working more
@@kaytowsey6216 it’s discusting, I’m a HGV driver doing long hours and seem to get penalised for earning a decent living which I work hard for while all the doleys that cba enjoy big handouts that we all pay for!
It's called conditioning. Induce fear and raise a price so they can lower it (to a still extortionate price), then look like the saviours while we still pay through the nose.
I've been considering having my electricity supply shut off completely (I don't have gas) and finding some other way to live. For the past 12 years I've been managing to exist on a tiny annual budget of £800 [eight-hundred quid] per year. I use no more than 280kWh of electricity annually [two-hundred and eighty per year]. I live alone in an old [1913] 2-bedroom terraced house in Yorkshire. I had a free Smart Meter fitted a few years ago; it works. I've had no problems with it. Back when I could choose a zero-standing-charge electricity tariff I was pretty happy. Bills could be kept tolerably small [e.g. £60 per year]. I don't have any form of heating whatsoever or a fridge (I just wear lots of clothes when I'm cold, and the house has an old-school cellar which will keep food fresh for up to a week for free) so my power usage is basically a kettle (daily cuppa) and one hot meal a day cooked on an induction hob. In the past few years four (4!) of my 'poverty-spec' electricity suppliers have gone bust. I'm currently with 'SO Energy', but ALL the tariffs from ALL the companies have had a standing charge slapped on them. My annual bills have doubled. It's ludicrous. I can't even afford to use NO electricity! My last 2-year fixed tariff expires in November 2022; I shudder to think what deals will be available then. The government's £400 bill reduction would have been a tremendous help and seen me through at least three years before the recent outrageous price hikes; now I suppose it'll be swallowed up in a year by the standing charge even if I use no power at all. So... It'd be nice to have my supply cut off, cook my meals and boil a kettle on a DIY wood/charcoal stove in the back garden, and to be able to tell the power companies where to go, but I imagine the disconnection fee would be several hundred pounds. Sigh.
My son was thinking of doing the same sort of thing until I reminded him of the 'standing charge'. It's a con! Good luck to you whatever you do. We all need to be moving towards a simpler life
Set up a small 'caravan' type solar system, just to run some lights /charge a phone etc so you feel that you have some comforts in a long dark winter. Wood heater for winter heat. Sorted
Be careful, there are health complications that come with the cold air. It's not just about staying warm coz you are breathing the cold air. You would be better getting another job and using the electric/gas or getting a wood burner I think.
@@domsumner7307 As long as ones core temperature is good I'm not aware of any health complications come with breathing cold air. Do you have any evidence for that?
So, as usual, businesses and those with the largest homes, will benefit the most from these caps. Paid for from public borrowing, therefore general taxation. Energy companies will continue to see their profits rise exponentially, with no increase in taxes on their obscene profits. Working people getting screwed over whilst the rich get richer once again. Start as you mean to go on Truss.
I like how Martin said at the end 'I hope that's been useful'. He is practically the most important person in the UK, fighting for the average person. Martin, you've been the most useful person in almost everybody's life since you vowed to get back at the injustice dished out to us by banks, governments and other businesses.
Thank you so much for summarising the latest announcement, Martin - your video should be broadcast on TV nationwide. You are invaluable to consumers and we are grateful for the tough work you take on on our behalf. I don't know what we'd do without your voice. On behalf of all those silent voices (to government ears) "Thank You". You don't have to do this...bless you that you choose to.
Some people have gone mad and are attacking him for helping people by saying he's spreading fear. They've been brainwashed into defending a very questionable government who've been protecting their interests above the citizens who employ them. The power of the right wing media is disturbing that they can turn people against people and protect such a government. Strange times lie ahead...
Well its something, better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, however... we'll be paying it back for years. Why no levy on the energy companies making huge excess profits?
Simple we need to have a security of supply. The blindness of shutting down our storage facilities shows how important this is. Also the help the Government has put in place today is said to have the advantage of reducing inflation by 5%. This should put inflation back to 2% next year. The jury of course is out on that one.
Because profits are more important than good financial standing. And the removal of the green levy is harming our long term energy situation as well as the planet.
I know that Mr Lewis has already commented briefly on the situation that I find myself in, but I find it curious that I have been on 100% renewable electricity for years and yet my electricity unit rate will increase in October. I read that the cost of production of such green energy has actually been decreasing so how is it that I am now going to be paying more? Doesn't this expose the whole green energy market as presently set up as a sham?
Who knew that it's all about making money not about reducing carbon emissions? See also - Scotland cutting down 14 million carbon capturing trees to make way for wind turbines.
It is very complicated but simple explanation is that the price of renewables is actually set by the price of gas (strange I know) so as you say the price for wind produced electricity should not have gone up as wind is free. But it has and the generators of wind electricity and govt have benefited from this. The gov are looking to change this and delink the prices which will be a great improvement.
So …how do you actually think the electricity you receive at your meter knows it is R”Renewable”? Is there a different network for the wind produced electricity ?😂😂
How the heck does this help those folk who cannot afford to put the heating on in the first place ? This will be the fourth year that I will not be putting the heating on.
this roten female were not put it there for to HELP THE BRITISH CITIZENS ONLY AUSTRALIA AND THE ROYALS IN HOLYWOOD their own kids which lead the world to sadism against the white race and MOST CHRISTIANS BRITISH. THIS HAS BEEN ON FOR AGES. AT LEAST IN THE PAST 100 YEARS. WHEN FEMALES IS ELECTED THAT MEANS SLAVE THE ORIGINAL CITIZENS TO DEATH OR NEARLY FOR NOT TO GET IT TOO VISIBLE FOR THEM WHAT IS GOING ON.... ROTEN LIKE A HELL
They have already forgotten that part. Mine jumped a huge amount and now again it’s going u. There is no way any business has their costs increase by 300%.
@@TONE11111 Yes it was the same supplier. I think most of the fixed deals are to existing customers. Martin Lewis's site actually strongly recommended the British Gas deal I went with based on the figures. I should have waited to see if there was a political solution but Liz Truss kept saying she would help the most vulnerable so I didn't think she would help everyone. However this help is much better than the fixed deal so I'm hoping to exit without paying. If necessary I will have to pay the exit fee it but the indications are I won't have to.
The fixed amount handout (gratefully received) does not help lower usage consumers as much as suggested because the standing charge is so much higher - I have got my gas use down to zero but ALREADY pay £120 a year currently for NOTHING, and that is just gas. How do I get out of that? I'll bet that standing charge increase will cover the shortfall !!!
Both Ofgem and standing changes should be be done away with 👏👏👏👏 standing charge as it’s known today was once called meter change 🤔 but so many people were complaining they changed the name,
I am more or less the same, just using minimal gas, much less than I was. My standing charge is now much higher than my actual bill and using less to zero is the only way you have any control over the bill. Some companies do not charge to have the gas disconnected but others are considering charging if demand is high and that might dissuade people from disconnecting, 'over a barrel' comes to mind.
The £2500 average is based on typical use which is (according to Ofgem) 3100 units electricity, 12000 kwh gas per year. As Martin has said many times, if you use more, you pay more.
Many pensioners who have a small private pension from local authorities for example did not get that £600 the same if you have been frugal and planning for retirement having over £10,000 in savings. so if you have been getting by being just above the thresholds for any benefit you were stuffed.
I know bloody annoying isn’t it I miss out as I have a small private pension and I’m 2years off pension age so no extra there either they’re just encouraging you to spend all your money don’t provide for your old age we will
Yes the feckless get all the help going but if you have been careful and worked hard payed your taxes all your life you get next to nothing I feel iv been made a fool of
@@paulinepress3024 Dear Pauline, IN 2009 2 men attacked me, attempted murder, I died 3 times, 8 ops in 7 days, 13 years later I take 56 tablets a day and had worked every day and I was a martyr like you paying taxes, as someone who is Feckless, thank you so much for your assistance and support. And no one has been caught. SUCH A NICE HUMAN YOU ARE
I must join the ranks of those thanking you Martin. You have expertly used your platform to lobby for the whole nation. It’s not a perfect solution but it certainly eases the incredible angst I have been feeling the past few months. Not withstanding our URGENT need to invest in renewables/nuclear I hope we can really afford to pay it back!? The recovery/growth/success of our economy is ever important and re-establishing the trade lost in the past two years.
@@mrgzola25 LOL but almost 60% of what, we use is imported from elsewhere. All of which is subject to market forces given the rest of Europe is basically sanctioning itself and now looking for gas from the suppliers we get that 60% from. This increased demand in the market pushes up prices of all non Russian gas. And given we only store 1% of our energy needs unlike Europe where the average is around 25%, we're extremely susceptible to the affects for price rises.
It's still the biggest distribution of wealth in most people's lives..words cannot express the anger and frustration all people feel...utterly disgraceful?
Yeah,we are distributing it straight to the rich. Why don't tax the companies makin huge profits on war? What distribution you are taking about? Our kids will be paying it for decades, how can you call it distribution of wealth?
Sooo. Apparently, we're to PAY now and PAY more "sometime" later, instead of PAYing a lot more sooner come October. But we will still ultimately have to PAY for ALL of it. When we're struggling NOW from the national pain of PAYing now. Thanks a lot Liz and her energy company chums! :-P
The way around it. Phone up the bill company and tell them to come collect the money. You are not required by law to pay by bank, post office, or via card over the phone. If they want their money they can come and collect it. This will cost them millions employing people to collect and the fear of the collectors being mugged. They will soon bring the price down.
@@robmontier639 If everyone makes a stand they'd have to bring down the price. They won't want to employ thousands of people to collect cash. We are not talking about a few pounds but hundreds from each household. It would cost them millions. . It would be better for them to take notice and drop the prices
@@richardjones8699 oh, so you think the real world is just to pay as normal via bank, post office etc? If they want their money, let them come collect the f*^ker. They can't take you to court for not paying as you'd not be refusing to pay. It would be a ball ache to employ people to collect from each household.
Martin, thank you for explaining; I already knew, but a great many do not. I think you're doing a tremendous job *that is so useful!* Best wishes from Wendi UK 🌻🌻🌻
When I looked up the previous unit rate, it had a footnote that it varies from area to area with no link to where I can find out the cap for my area. So not much use really.
£2500 a year is absolutelty meaningless, until the headline figures are unit rates and standing charges then it means absolutely nothing, in fact the prices may rise because the "average household" has had to dramatically cut use.
The eye-watering sums that Truss and Co are about to borrow will have to be repaid in the future. This means her action is simply a postponement of the day of full reckoning. As we will all struggle to cope with the immediate rise in energy bills right now, what the hell will we have to stump up when the borrowing bill has to be repaid by all of us?
You can just worry about your mortgage now as interest rates will now rise sharply as the money markets will lose confidence in the UK for borrowing so much.
Many people's annual bills have doubled (under this new figure), some have tripled. That's STILL unaffordable for many on benefits/lower incomes. Additional targeted support will still be needed.
@@barrydoherty636 I just feel £150bn is unaffordable for future generations and middle classes don’t need the subsidy and energy producers could pay more out of their windfalls - Martin Lewis knows that better than most
I live in a draughty flat, last Winter I couldn't even afford to put my heating on. Made worse by the fact I live in Northern Scotland and it's bl@@dy freeeeeezing 🥶🥶. The UK Government REALLY screwed this up. It's not happening to this extent elsewhere.
I also didn’t put my heating on last winter. At least we are hardened to it and this year be better prepared Thermals wool blankets 2/3 pairs of socks on hot water bottle hats gloves neck warmers (and that’s just for indoors !!
the standing charge has always been a cash grab that they are milking in horrendous amounts basically for no reason, mine now is approx £150 per year once for gas and another for electric so they are getting £300 per year for SFA