Energy price 'extreme crisis' will be made worse by increase to the price cap, Welsh charity says
A "really extreme crisis" caused by high energy prices will be made worse by the increase to the price cap, a leading Welsh charity has told ITV Wales.
A new energy price cap coming into effect in April will see customers paying almost £700 more per year to power their homes, Ofgem has announced.
The energy regulator confirmed the price cap will rise by 54% from April 1, affecting around 22 million customers.
Jo Harry from Care & Repair Cymru told ITV Cymru Wales: "We support older people to live independently in their own homes longer. Over the winter we have already seen habits changing for fear of not being able to pay their energy bills.
"For people who are already struggling to stay warm and stay well, the price cap increase is going to push them deeper into trouble paying their bills.
"We've already seen the impact. People are changing their behaviours and this will impact on their health. They are going to cut back on their heating, they are going to use less electricity, out of fear about getting into energy debt.
"More than many people imagine, cold is responsible for many health conditions, it causes hospital admissions and more deaths.
"We think this is a really extreme crisis, and I'm not just throwing that word around lightly. It's only going to get worse."
Care & Repair Cymru say in the last week they have been approached by dozens of people already struggling to adapt to preemptively increasing bills ahead of the price cap hike.
They say one client, who is an older person with an illness on Anglesey, has resorted to using battery operated lights and turning off her heating in order to save money because she is worried about getting into debt.
Another man in the Vale of Glamorgan, who looks after his wife who has had three strokes, has stopped using the fire in their house because he cannot pay his energy bills, even though being cold is likely to exacerbate her condition.
The latest estimate for homes in fuel poverty in Wales is already 12%, more than one in 10 homes. That estimate is from 2019, and is thought to underestimate the problem.
"How have we come to this?" Ms Harry asked.
"This client is putting on extra jumpers on his wife instead of putting the fire on because they cannot afford it, even after they have worked their whole lives.
"These are just two examples, and I could give you many more. It's heartbreaking, and I don't say that lightly."
Food banks are also seeing the effects of energy price hikes.
Fatehulla Tahir, director at the Dar Ul-Isra Mosque in Cathays which runs a food bank, said: "We are already starting to see worrying signs of how this is affecting the community.
"Over the last few weeks the number of people using the food bank has increased and it is envisaged that this will further increase over the next few weeks/months as the cost of living increases."