Martin Lewis warns 'people will die' as energy prices go up
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On Friday, energy regulator Ofgem announced that the price cap on household energy bills will now reach a gut-wrenching £3,549 per year. As the record high prices of wholesale gas are passed onto customers, experts have warned that even turning on the oven to cook a Sunday roast could now be unaffordable for many Britons. A new report has found that the cost of cooking a Sunday roast could now be £5, while the cost of cooking a 5kg turkey for a Christmas dinner could set you back even more at £10.
TV chef Dave Myers told the Mirror: “It seems terribly wrong. These prices shouldn’t happen – things are out of control.“
He added: “We’ve never really had to factor in the energy required to cook before we even think of the price of the dish.
“We’re a top 10 world economy, we shouldn’t be having these problems when we worry about heating our house in the winter.”
According to figures from the Mirror, in 2019, the price of keeping a 3kw oven on for two hours was just over £1.
Once the October price cap comes into effect, that will rise to £3.12 when the October price cap rises.
As experts predict the price cap rising to around £4,200 by January, the cost of cooking could rise to £5.16.
The soaring energy crisis now threatens to take down a staple British custom, as Britons eat 1.28 billion roasts a year, with one in five sitting down with friends and family to tuck into Sunday dinner.
Mr Myers, who was on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 – said that he has already begun looking for ways to save power, particularly by batch cooking.
He said: “I’d cook like a chicken fricassee or a chicken chasseur because you can then freeze two or three of them.
“Obviously there’s a cost to keeping the freezer going but it’s a lot less than the oven.”
This energy crisis nightmare is only set to go from bad to worse, as energy consultancy Auxilione have issued its worst predictions yet.
They forecast energy bills to reach a crippling £7,700 from April 2023 – with gas costing consumers 34.22p per kWh.
This is significantly higher than the current predictions for January, which lie at £5,632 per year, up 59 percent from the current price cap from October.
Gas prices were set at 14.92p per kWh in October, and electricity will cost 51.52p per kWh.
While some called for scrapping green levies on energy bills to help households, experts have warned that it could unintended consequences.
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Jess Ralston, Senior Analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said: “So-called green levies actually support various early renewable projects which have worked to reduce the costs of wind and solar power, so that they are now nine times cheaper than current gas prices, and the Contracts for Difference scheme is directly taking £25 off energy bills this winter.
“They also help to fund social schemes that install insulation into low-income households and help the elderly with winter energy bills – so removing them altogether would be bonkers at a time like this, as they are actively working to keep electricity price rises less than gas, and to help those least able to afford it stay warm with insulation this winter.
“Moving them into general tax is more sensible as it would be more progressive and mean that costs are more fairly spread throughout levels of income.”
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