and the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee which limits how much customers can be charged.
They are entitled to £400 via the Energy Bills Support Scheme but with commercial rates for gas having increased astronomically, it will make little difference to some.A couple’s energy bills at Budenberg Haus have risen from around £180 a month to more than £2,300 “We thought ‘well, we can’t do anything about it’. When we got the February bill, I was just in shock.
“I am fearful of being cut off [if I don’t pay], I don’t whether I will change my direct debit before it’s due to come out or not. A spokesperson for Switch2 said the extortionate prices at Budenberg Haus is the result of a contract expiring in November 2022 which has been replaced by a short-term deal that has a “significantly higher unit rate, than the previous, due to market conditions.”
“The problem is there isn’t much [Government] intervention, in terms of heating they’ve not had any price protection.”Historically, “heat network” operators have been able to buy gas at commercial prices as low as 2 pence a unit and therefore some residents paid below-average bills.