Amelia Hughes

Energy bills for the average household will rise by 1.2% starting in January, Ofgem, the energy watchdog has announced. This rise will affect 26 million households across Scotland, England and Wales.

The change to the price cap means that energy prices will rise by £21 per year or £1.75 a month for the typical household. The average person who pays via direct debit can expect to be charged £1,738 a year, which remains high compared to pre-Covid levels.

Glasgow local Craig Murray, 27 is like many others in Scotland who are struggling to pay their energy bills, and is sometimes going without heating in order to curb overinflated bills.

He says: “Honestly, it’s been really tough. I spoke with a debt advisor cause I felt like I was drowning in bills. It did help but aside from covering the bare necessities I can’t afford much else at the moment.”

“I just feel like I can’t do anything without worrying about money,” he adds.

People across the UK are doing without so that they can afford their rising energy bills, with 6.7 million planning to cut down on baths and showers and 4.4 million planning to sell personal and household items to make up the difference.

“I feel worried all the time. Like I’ll do something that will put my bill over what I can afford and will miss a payment.” Craig adds “All I need is for my car to break down or something and one of my bills might not be getting paid that month.”

Craig isn’t alone, 26% of Scottish households say that it is difficult to keep up with energy bills. Whilst difficulties in affording energy bills has slightly decreased nationwide since 2022, the energy debt accumulated by some during the period of higher bills continues to be a source of concern.

He says: “I racked up some debt last year, I didn’t have a full-time contract then so I relied on overtime a lot. Work doesn’t really give much notice if overtime is getting cut so one month I just didn’t have enough to cover all of my bills, and then it happened again and again cause the shop was quiet.”

“Then I had to pay my new bills and the old ones as well,” Craig adds.

More than 1 in 12 Scottish households are in energy debt, for those already struggling to manage their bills Ofgem’s most recent announcement comes as an unwelcome surprise.

Tim Jarvis, director of markets at Ofgem, says: “We understand that the cost of energy remains a challenge for too many households. However with more tariffs coming into the market there are ways for customers to bring their bill down so please shop around and look at all the options.”

“Our reliance on volatile international markets – which are affected by factors such as events in Russia and the Middle East – means the cost of energy will continue to fluctuate. So it’s more important than ever to stay focused on building a renewable, home-grown energy system to bring costs down and give households stability.”

Whilst Ofgem’s energy cap for January – March 2025 marks a degree of stability in our energy prices, it also reflects the new norm of high bills and the expectation for households to ‘hold-tight’ until the price drops, putting the responsibility on the individual to find a better deal.

Derek Mitchell, CEO at Citizens Advice Scotland, offers a different perspective to the most recent price rise, he says: “The reality is that any increase in energy costs is bad news.”

“Energy prices remain too high and force people into impossible situations. It limits choices when it comes to bills and household spending, often leading to people rationing or stopping the use of heating completely. As the days get colder and colder, especially over the past week, thousands across Scotland face the misery of living in a cold home, impacting both their physical and mental wellbeing.”

“Across our network, the average person seeking debt advice has £2500 of energy related debt with many on low incomes. And unfortunately, our energy markets are broken. Urgent and targeted solutions including a social tariff and debt write off schemes are needed to help people not only stay warm but have a realistic way to pay debts back.”

Ofgem’s announcement marks the second energy price rise this winter. According to Consumer Scotland there has been some improvement in the affordability of energy bills, but this improvement coincides with a growing concern around the level of debt experienced by those struggling most.

If you need help manging your energy bills, resources can be found here.