Act now as energy prices set to go up this winter

The Bank of England warned last week that gas and electricity bills could rise by an average of 2.5 per cent around the end of this year – just as families and pensioners turn up the heat to keep warm.

The bank said: “Continuing rises in other costs that those suppliers face, such as those associated with distribution, are likely to result in small increases in domestic energy prices.”

Such rises would be highly controversial, as the Government has pressurised the Big Six energy giants – EDF Energy, British Gas, Scottish Power, Southern and Scottish Energy, nPower and E.On – to cut the bills as wholesale costs have come down.

Lucy Darch, energy expert at uSwitch.com, said: “This is very worrying news for consumers, as in the last six years, household energy bills have rocketed by £599 or 91 per cent – from £660 a year in 2006 to £1,259.”

The comparison website uSwitch.com said already about a third of households find their current energy bill unaffordable.

But Midlands energy expert Ron Fox said there were three ways householders could offset this winter increase if they acted now.

Firstly, they could spray foam their loft with a system such as the Icynene Insulation System which forms an air-tight seal in the attic and reduces heating bills by up to 50 per cent as it literally stops heat going up through the roof, saving up to £600 a year every year.  

Secondly, he suggests putting a four-metre square solar thermal system on the roof which cuts energy costs by up to 33% and provides up to 70% of a householder’s annual hot water needs as it is powered and paid for by sunlight. The latest systems can now work with combi boilers.

Finally, householders could install solar panels on their roof and cut their energy bills, as well as receiving a subsidy through the Feed-in Tariff – the money the Government pays residents for generating electricity.

At present the FiT is paid at two tariffs. The Generation Tariff is at 16p per Kilowatt Hour for all electricity generated for a 4 kWp system and is topped up with the Export Tariff, which adds an extra 4.5p per KWh for electricity exported to the Grid. These figures are index linked and guaranteed for 20 years.

The Solar Trade Association (STA) calculates that a family installing a 4kWp system this month costing £8,000, using 50 per cent of their power in the home and exporting 50 per cent to the National Grid, will find that it will have paid for itself by August 2022.

This is based on Government projections in electricity cost and established national average yields from solar power.

Ron said: “The returns from investing in this technology are up to 9.2 per cent, far better than any bank account or pension.”

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