Concern for householders

Lewis [founder of the MoneySavingExpert website] said he’s run out of ways to help.”

Ken Brace, of Pontarddulais, is phlegmatic about the energy cost problem.

“We are all going to be affected by it somewhere down the line, and there’s nothing we can do about it,” said the 76-year-old.

“I’ve had nothing official come through about it yet, but you hear it’ll go up again. Everything is going up. It’s ridiculous. You buy a loaf of bread one week and it’s £1.10, and the next week it’s £1.20. A lot of people have kids, and it’s harder for them.”

Claire Lewis has been staying with her son at her mother’s house for a while, and is certain of higher energy bills when she goes back to her home in Pontarddulais.

“I can’t give the figures at the moment,” said the 33-year-old. “I think I pay £130 a month for gas and electricity.”

“My house is old and quite cold – I have my heating on some summer nights. I will probably have to cut back on other things. I really do think people are going to struggle.”

David Leigh and his wife Louise Evans-Leigh, used to pay £100 a month for their energy.

They’ve now been told it’ll be upwards of £260. He said: “You never thought twice about putting the heating on,” said Mrs EvansLeigh, 41. “Now it’s only going to go on when it’s really cold.”

The couple, who run baby carrier business Rose and Rebellion on St Teilo Street, have a woodburner.

“I think we’re going to spend the whole summer collecting wood,” said David, 44. They’ve noticed that the standing charge element of the energy bill, especially for electricity, is soaring, meaning that actually cutting back on energy usage will have less impact than you might expect.

“We can afford it but it’ll mean cutting back on luxuries and not putting it towards savings,” said Mrs Evans-Leigh. The couple said the Government wasn’t helping enough, and should impose a windfall tax on energy producers.

Hilary Constable’s energy bill rose from £40 per month to £65 and was set to rise again to £105 in April, but she wasn’t having it.

“I rang them, and said I can’t afford it,” said the 64-year-old, who lives in a two-bedroom flat and works part-time. “I said that’s food off my table.”