Increase in energy price cap is ‘very alarming’

On Friday 23rd August, the regulatory Ofgem announced its new energy price cap for the winter of 2024, with bills set to rise by an average of £149. This new cap will run from October 1st to December 31st. However, the charity Disability Rights UK says the word “cap” is disingenuous as there isn't a total cap on what you can pay for energy. 

In a recent blog, Disability Rights UK says energy is essential to anyone with a disability. The physical and mental wellbeing of any disabled person more often relies on the equipment they use daily to either move, transfer, sleep, eat or medicate. Equipment that is designed to keep them alive and to enhance their daily lives. Equipment that relies on energy. 

Examples of this are numerous, but some include; fall alarms, additional fridges for use of medication that must be keep cold on constant charge, overnight and daily wheelchair charging, overnight and daily mobile hoist charging, washing machines constantly in use daily due to bladder & kidney dysfunctions, oxygen concentrators for multiple lung conditions requiring oxygen support, through floor lifts on constant charge, suction machines for tracheostomy blockages to prevent choking, Cpap or Bipap oxygen machines on all night and of course heating on constantly as many disabled people cannot regulate body temperature. 

A recent report from Marie Curie found that on average UK energy bills rose above £2,000 for the first time back in 2022 – meaning a person with a terminal illness would be paying as much as £3,500 a year for energy. The report also highlighted the fact that a terminally ill person’s energy bill can rise by 75% after their diagnosis.

Disability Rights UK is calling on the government to work with disabled people’s organisations like theirs to understand the issues. The charity is also calling for a social tariff is a discounted energy deal for qualifying low-income consumers, such as disabled people and carers. Campaigners would also like to see the introduction of the Energy Price Guarantee for Disabled households (until a social tariff is introduced) and to reinstate the Warm Home Discount for the 300,000 Disabled people who lost this vital support due to changes in eligibility criteria. A next step would be the permanent extension of the Household Support Fund. 

Richard Kramer, Chief Executive of the national disability charity Sense, told Naidex,

“This increase in the energy price cap will be very alarming for many disabled households, who face unavoidable extra energy use for essential equipment such as powered chairs and feeding machines. This is a stark reminder that the cost-of-living crisis is far from over, and disabled households still need extra support.

“We would like the government to implement a social energy tariff, which would help level the playing field for disabled people who rely on energy-intensive equipment. Disabled people cannot be left waiting any longer for targeted help with their energy bills.”

Find out more about the benefits and financial help that you and the people you support may be entitled to via the Sense website.