People shouldn’t participate in campaigns for an energy bill strike, according to the head of the energy regulator Ofgem.
With thousands of people already pledging their support, a movement called Don’t Pay has urged people to stop making their gas and electricity direct debit payments as of October 1.
CEO Jonathan Brearley said in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I know everyone is very concerned about paying their energy bill, but absolutely I would not encourage anyone to join a campaign like this for two reasons.
First of all, it will result in increased costs for everyone. Additionally, contacting your energy provider is the best course of action if you are having trouble paying your bill.
I wouldn’t advise anyone to put off paying their bill, he continued, because doing so will only make matters worse and have an effect on them personally.
Millions of us won’t be able to pay our bills this winter, according to Don’t Pay. We cannot allow that to occur.
“The strategy is easy. We urge that energy costs be lowered to a manageable level. On October 1, we’re going to rally a million individuals to promise not to pay if the government implements yet another hefty tax increase.
Mass non-payment is not a novel concept, the group continued, as it occurred in the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s when more than 17 million people refused to pay the Poll Tax, which helped topple the government and overturn its harshest policies.
Energy companies will be in major problems if even a small percentage of us who pay by direct debit cease making payments, and they are aware of this. To push them to resolve this situation, we want to bring them to the table.
A representative for Don’t Pay told ELN: “One reason we’re in this situation is Ofgem’s appalling inability to regulate the energy market over the past decade and protect customers.
This winter will be a calamity for us. Thousands of people will freeze to death because millions won’t be able to afford to keep their houses warm.
The only way we can prevent this, according to millions of people, is if we collectively pressure Ofgem and the government to act in the interests of the populace rather than the energy sector.
In light of Ofgem’s warning that customers will face a “particularly tough winter ahead,” the energy price cap will now be revised every three months rather than every six.
According to the energy regulator, the move to quarterly revisions ensures that “prices charged to bill-payers are a better reflection of current gas and electricity costs.”
This will enable “energy suppliers to better manage their risks, creating a more secure market and helping to keep costs down for everyone,” Ofgem continued.
The energy price cap update schedule modification, according to the London-based regulator, “will go some way to provide the stability needed in the energy market.”
According to the most recent projections, household energy costs will likely stay at levels that are more than 2.5 times higher than they were prior to the crisis until at least 2024.
According to Cornwall Insight, one of the most reputable energy consultancies in the nation, average family costs will start at a startling £3,359 per year in October and won’t go down below that level until at least the end of next year.
24 million British households are subject to a price cap on energy bills, which will increase to £3,616 starting in January and to £3,729 starting in April, according to the report.
After that, it will gradually start to decline, reaching £3,569 in July before falling to £3,470 in the final three months of 2023.