May 2, 2012 / Posted in  energy, gas, Money, News, power

The scale of debts owed to energy companies supplying households around the UK grew steeply over the course of 2011 and the situation is adding significantly to the financial concerns of many thousands of British families.

According to the price comparison service uSwitch.com, there are close to four million households around the country currently in debt to their energy supplier, with the average level of arrears at just over £140 in early 2012. On a collective scale across the UK energy debts are now believed to be worth in excess of £478million and rising.

The growing scale of the issue reflects the general financial struggles that virtually every family in the UK felt over the course of last year, as well as the significant and remarkable rises in the cost of paying for gas and ele...

December 16, 2011 / Posted in  Advice, bills, energy, Finance, gas, Money, power

It is no secret that the amounts of money being spent on heating and powering our homes and fuelling our cars on a monthly basis have been rising throughout the year but it is less clear what impact all this is having the UK’s household finances.

Recent research from the insurance group Aviva offers us some idea and provides further evidence of just how much average fuel bills and energy prices have been increasing. According to the study, the typical cost of an energy bill in the UK increased by 18...