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Families 'struggling' as energy price cap rises

Tristan Pascoe
Dorset political reporter
BBC Zoe Bradley from Citizens Advice in her Bournemouth office. She is standing next to a Citizens Advice pop up banner.BBC
Zoe Bradley, from Citizens Advice, said fuel poverty was "getting worse and worse"

Families struggling with the cost of living will not not be able to afford increases in energy bills, a charity in Dorset has warned.

A new price cap announced on Tuesday is expected to show domestic energy prices will rise by 5% from April, adding £85 a year to household bills.

Citizens Advice (CA) said it helped more than 52,000 people with energy bill problems between January and October last year - equivalent to one person every two minutes.

Zoe Bradley, the chief of the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole service, told the BBC many families would not be able to have their heating on at all.

Tom is being interviewed in a children's park in Bournemouth. He is wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and no tie.
Tom Hayes, Labour MP for Bournemouth East, said he knew the latest increase would leaves families "worried"

Ms Bradley said: "But also it affects cooking, it affects all other electricity bills, obviously we're going into warmer weather but it still affects every part of their life.

"It's one thing after another and the fuel poverty is just getting worse and worse, it cannot go on. It really is dire straits for people."

Bournemouth's CA service said in the past year it had seen a 35% increase in the number of people needing support with energy debt.

Already in 2025, it has seen more than 5,000 applications for the most recent round of the Household Support Fund, for families who do not have enough money for essentials, including energy bills.

The charity warns the latest energy price cap rise "will undoubtedly push more households into fuel poverty, increasing the need for alternative charitable support".

PA An image of a human hand, turning down a thermostatPA
Domestic energy prices are set to rise by 5% from April

Banwo Agiliore, who is a case worker at CA Bournemouth, said: "People are really, really struggling, given by the volume of applications [for the Household Support Fund] we are receiving on a daily basis.

"We've had over 5,000 just this year. Most of them are complaining of the cost of food and how to pay their energy bills."

Tom Hayes, Labour MP for Bournemouth East, said he knew the latest increase would leaves families "worried".

"I'm working with local advice agencies to make sure that we get our share of £1.5bn-worth of support into Bournemouth East...

"...we [as a government] need to go faster at installing solar and wind and battery storage connected to the grid which will protect us against future price rises."

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