The Support Gap: energy bills continue to push disabled households to the brink

Energy affordability remains a key challenge for disabled consumers. This year alone, we’ve helped over 57,000 disabled people manage the impact of energy debt on their shrinking budgets.

Rising costs have made it much more difficult for our advisers to provide the level of support they once easily could. Andrew* is one of many disabled people struggling to afford energy bills.

Andrew is a single father of 2 children who can’t work due to health conditions. The cost of food and energy have risen considerably over the years, leaving him with a large amount of energy debt. He’s also repaying several other debts which has left him barely able to afford essentials. He prioritises paying for food and energy over other bills but he’s often forced to make very difficult decisions.

Andrew has tried a range of strategies to get his bills down, but costs are simply too high. He needs an electric mobility car but he’s worried about getting one because the additional costs from his illness are already unmanageable. Andrew is constantly anxious about his debts.

Andrew is having to perform a dangerous balancing act to manage the higher energy costs from his health condition, pay off his energy debts and keep food on the table and the heating on for him and his 2 young children.

Stacked Debts

This summer, we commissioned a survey with Yonder, which revealed that energy debt continues to disproportionately affect disabled consumers. Disabled consumers were 33% more likely than those without disabilities to have fallen behind on other expenses as a result of energy debt, with nearly 2 in 5 (40%) having done so.

Many disabled people are struggling to pay for their already high energy usage alongside making suitable repayments on their debts. As Andrew’s story shows, energy is an essential bill for many disabled consumers, as they need energy to help manage their disability. This forces them to prioritise paying for energy, as the cost of falling behind would be either energy rationing or self-disconnection, neither of which are safe options for those who rely so heavily on their energy supply.

When asked if energy prices staying the same for the next 5 years would impact their ability to afford essentials, 2 in every 5 (40%) disabled people said it would, in comparison to 2 in every 7 (29%) of those without disabilities.

The affordability crisis is clearly hitting people with disabilities harder than many other groups, but our data suggests that this crisis extends beyond energy bills.

The current support system is failing to deliver

We know that living with a disability has many compounding effects. Physical and structural barriers in society often affect their ability to work and many have conditions that require them to use more energy. The scope of support available for consumers in the retail energy market needs to account for this.

Maria is an elderly Roma woman who lives on a traveller site. After an incident that left residents without electricity, everyone on the site had a smart prepayment meter installed. Maria doesn’t have a smartphone and can’t read or write as a result of her disability so is unable to top up her meter using her energy supplier’s app. To top up her meter, she has to input a 20 digit code that is printed in very small print. Maria is unable to do this independently. This has left her without heating for many days and has caused her mental and physical health to deteriorate. She has contacted her energy supplier about the issue but was told nothing can be done if the meter is not faulty.

The Priority Services Register (PSR) gives consumers with complex needs access to priority support through their utilities companies. If Maria was on the PSR, her supplier would’ve been required to offer her a payment method that is more suited to her needs. However, many don’t know that they’re eligible for support through the PSR. And for those on the PSR with their energy supplier, they’re unaware that they can get on the register for other essential bills.

The lack of a consistent approach to vulnerability and the inability to obtain the support required across all essential services is leading to severe detriment for these consumers. People with disabilities, especially those who belong to racially minoritised groups like Maria, can face additional barriers when accessing support. This makes it incredibly difficult to navigate the patchwork landscape of support available.

What must be done to ensure disabled people can keep warm throughout the winter months?

The changes to the Warm Home Discount mean that about 2.7 million more low-income households are eligible for the discount this winter. In the Autumn Budget, the government also announced that £150 will be cut from the average energy bill by April next year.

While these are welcome announcements, without further action, people with disabilities will continue to struggle to heat their homes. As we discussed in the first blog of this series, a tiered Warm Home Discount is needed to provide support that’s better targeted to each household’s energy consumption by providing more support to those who need it most. This will help with the burden of high energy costs, rising energy debt and a lasting cost of living crisis.

In addition to this, we’re also calling for the introduction of a single, cross-sector Priority Services Register that coordinates support across all essential services. It’s important that support for people with disabilities is easy to access and provided consistently.

Even with all these changes, energy suppliers must identify vulnerable consumers and provide support that is proactive and tailored to their needs. Energy UK’s vulnerability commitment good practice guide shows that many suppliers already provide support through support funds, providing energy saving equipment or working with specialist support organisations. Those that don’t should follow suit to ensure that all disabled consumers who are struggling with affordability can access advice and support with their energy bills throughout the winter months.

This blog is part of a series spotlighting the impact of energy affordability on specific demographic groups.

The data used comes from both our internal data and a survey commissioned by Yonder Consulting. The case studies come from calls received by our local advisers.

*All names have been changed to protect anonymity