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Campaigning Pensioners Challenge Dangerously Ignorant Increase To Energy Price Cap

The Scottish Pensioners’ Forum, the campaigning organisation for older people in Scotland, has today called the increase to the energy price cap “dangerously ignorant” and will leave many of the most vulnerable in society struggling to cope this winter.

Reacting to today’s energy price cap announcement, Rose Jackson SPF Chair argued:

“While yesterday the SPF welcomed the news that the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement pledged to honour the triple lock and will be uprating the Basic State Pension from next April, today’s price cap announcement means that many older and vulnerable people will still be facing a very bleak winter.

“During his address, the Chancellor would have been fully aware of what today’s announcement would bring and yet chose to do nothing on energy – it’s nothing short of shameful!

“This sleight of hand tactic and continued ‘giving with one hand and taking away with the other’ has become all too commonplace from Westminster.

“Ofgem’s announcement is dangerously ignorant of what a 5% increase to energy bills will actually mean in real terms, not only for older and disabled people but for young people, students and families too.

“How can it be that wholesale energy costs have reduced and yet energy bills are still 50% higher than they were two years ago – they must think that we’re all too stupid to work it out for ourselves.

For pensioners and those living in small households, standing charges represent a significant portion of their energy bills. People living in Scottish Power distribution areas already pay the second highest daily standing charge for their electricity supply. The Scottish Pensioners’ Forum has recently held a series of meetings with Ofgem where the abolition of standing charges has been consistently raised.

“Dual fuel customers already pay more than £1 per day in standing charges before they even boil a kettle or switch on a light and with no energy support scheme in place this winter, the choice on whether to eat or heat will continue to be all too real.

“Ofgem and the blatantly, entitled energy providers need to stop using standing charges as a cash cow to subsidise the market, recoup their bad debt and prop up failing energy providers – we’ve had enough!”

23rd November 2023