Heating cutbacks planned by many

A recent report has shown how many people are planning to cut back on heating their homes this winter, as the cost of electricity and gas usage continued to eat into their monthly budget. Amongst those planning to make cutbacks are retired pensioner who cannot afford to pay the high heating bills from their pension, and are looking for ways to cut back on the cost of heating their homes.

In the past year energy prices have rocketed twice, and although the cost of crude oil has come down energy price still remain high, although some officials have said that prices should start to come down. However, the price cuts may not come soon enough for many, and therefore cutting costs is going to be essential for those with limited budgets who cannot afford to see the cost of their bills rise further.

A number of older consumers that were polled said that they would be heating just one room in their home over the winter period to try and keep costs down and others have said that they plan to simply stay in bed in order to keep warm. Campaigners are calling on the government to take action and help those in this situation.

One elderly woman in a housing association property said: “The association is going to put in a new central heating system for me and that should hopefully keep the costs down a bit more, but for now I plan to stay in my bed under the covers if it gets too bad. You feel the cold a lot more when you get older and sometimes it gets to the point where you think ‘I’ll either eat or I’ll heat’.”