Essex mum on bills: "Thank god the sun's shining - I haven't got to pay to heat the house"
She says her electricity bill has nearly doubled
Last updated 20th Jun 2022
The impact of the cost of living crisis continues to be felt across the UK, with 59% of people on a low income saying they don't feel in control of their monthly energy bills.
That's according to new research by Smart Energy GB, which earlier this year found that more than half of people are anxious about being able to afford their energy bills this winter.
Greatest Hits Radio Essex caught up with Chelmsford mum of 2, Sarah, to see how she's coping.
We previously spoke to Sarah back in February, when she said she 'can't afford to heat the house', and unfortunately, it hasn't got much better: "It's not going great, to be honest.
"Bills, and everything, are just going up in price. The electric has pretty much doubled, it's astronomical.
"Thank god the sun's shining because I haven't got to pay to heat the house at the moment."
To cope with the increasing costs, Sarah's been forced to make some cutbacks: "My oldest is going through his GCSE's at the moment, so he's got the laptop on upstairs. My youngest plays the computer in his bedroom or downstairs.
"To keep costs down, I charge my phone at work and then watch Netflix or something on my phone, so the telly doesn't have to be on.
"Because it's daytime, and summer, the lights don't need to be on, and when it is night time, I just have one lamp on."
She says it's affecting her mental health: "It feels rubbish. I go to work and I can't afford to do everything that I could afford to do a while ago.
"Gas and electricity are just normal needs that everyone needs in their home. It's not like it's a luxury, is it?"
The government has attempted to provide some relief to people's struggles, providing all UK households with a grant to reduce energy bills by £400, however Sarah doesn't feel it's enough: "Sure, it's nice, but that money is just getting clawed back everywhere else.
"They're saying we'll give you this money, but the public are still paying out a lot more anyway. The lump sum will be nice for everyone, but ultimately, we're still paying for it through our shopping, our gas, electric, petrol, everything."
So does Sarah see the crisis ending anytime soon?: "I don't think so.
"Like the majority of people, we're going day by day. That's it. What else can you do?... It's going to be what it's going to be...
"You can't even enjoy anything now, it's literally just paying to to live, to exist."
It comes as a new poll out today shows over 60% of people feel more worried about the cost of living now than they did six months ago.
4 in 10 people have also switched to buying less expensive brands or using cheaper stores.
The Government says it's providing 8-million households with extra support.