GB News: Three tips to save money on energy bills
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As the cold winter months approach, Britons are resorting to using electric blankets and candles to avoid forking out extra cash as a result of the skyrocketing energy prices amid a crisis. Although Prime Minister Liz Truss’ energy price guarantee will save households from forking out the staggering £3,549 bill which was predicted for October by industry regulator Ofgem, the average household is still being forced to pay double as much each month for heat and lighting compared with last year. Now, Brits are looking for every cost-cutting trick in the book to avoid turning the heat up amid colder weather.
Trends have now shown that demand for duvets and electric blankets was eight percent higher in September, while candle sales also went up by nine percent, according to data from Kantar.
Tesco has also revealed that its sales of electric blankets have skyrocketed by 500 percent this year, with John Lewis having seen an increase in demand of 100 percent since last year. Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s has said that sold one electric blanket every 1.5 minutes over the past month.
And according to Bed Kingdom, an estimated 41,000 people have searched online for an electric blanket just this month, with searches soaring by 342 percent over the last week alone.
This week, energy company Octopus Energy announced that it is giving away 10,000 blankets to its customers who need them most before the cold weather sets in. Customers are able to fill in an online form to apply for one of these blankets on Octopus’ website.
The energy company has said the electric blankets will be given to those who are most in need, which will likely include the elderly and people with a medical condition that requires them to stay warm.
As gas and electricity bills continue to soar, many of the most vulnerable households may also have to choose between heating and eating as budgets get stretched. But research has shown that ditching gas ovens for air fryers could save households up to £604 a year.
Frozen food specialist Iceland has teamed up with energy supplier Utilita for the “Shop Smart, Cook Savvy”, which was launched back in August to encourage families to think more wisely about the kitchen utilities they use.
Utilita conducted research to find out the running costs of specific kitchen utilities, while also asking respondents to answer survey questions determin how long households spend cooking, which utilities they mostly use and whether they are aware of the running costs.
Results showed that households spend around 43 minutes cooking every day, with over half of the households, or 52 percent, admitting they do not know which of their cooking appliances cost more to run.
Analysis also showed that microwaves are the cheapest to run out of the seven selected utilities, costing just £30.02 a year to run, while slow cookers cost nearly £60 a year, and air fryers £52.74. Meanwhile, electric cookers cost the most to run, at around 87p per day and £6.09 per week, while gas which were the third most expensive, cost around £120.83 to run a year.
Richard Walker, Iceland’s Managing Director, said: “The cost of living crisis continues to be the biggest national issue facing consumers and as a private, family-run business, we’re constantly looking at both short, and long-term initiatives that can offer any support.
“Our ‘Shop Smart, Cook Savvy’ collaboration with Utilita is so important, as it shines a light on the relationship between what we buy and how much energy we use cooking it, helping to empower our customers and provide them with access to information that can help stretch their budgets further.”
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But not only heating and eating which may be a problem for Brits, but keeping the lights on at night may also be made more difficult for households and businesses as electricity prices spiral too.
For one pub in Cornwall, called the Masons Arms, the owners have been switch off the lights and lighting the candles for one night a week in order to save on bills. Camelford resident Nigel Williams, who came up with the idea after hearing the shock amount the establishment was having to pay for electricity. He told ITV: “£90 a day or something absurd, I don’t know what these candles cost but it’s not £90 a day. I think it’s much more pleasant and easy going, very romantic.”
The pub said the electiricty bills, before its candle-lit cash-saving plan, had seen its electiricty bills go up to a staggering £4,000 a month. Landlord Alan Woods told BBC News: “We have done something and it’s working and it’s paying its way. We’ll keep going as long as we can.”
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