Martin Lewis has spoken of his devastation and helplessness as six million Brits face fuel poverty due to budget-busting energy prices.
The money saving expert “choked up” with emotion and felt a “wave of nausea” listening to stories of people facing a cost-of-living crisis.
Following filming of his ITV show last week, Martin, 49, said he was shaking and felt “impotent” after hearing that a single mum who lost her partner to Covid couldn’t afford her energy bills.
Martin is now calling on the Government to urgently intervene to prevent millions being plunged into further fuel poverty.
He says: "After my show last week I felt completely impotent. I got a wave of nausea at the thought of millions of people who will be forced into fuel poverty in April. My voice choked on air.
“I got home to an empty house - my wife was filming abroad and my little girl was in bed - and I was so upset, I was shaking.
“It's deeply frustrating - we are facing a cost of living crisis.
“Let's be under no illusion - there is a time when people should be panicking and they absolutely should be right now.”
Experts have warned that energy bills could rise by 51% in April, adding as much as £600 to annual costs, as the price cap gets set to increase.
Fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA) estimates that the hikes in April will leave six million Brits in fuel poverty - with hundreds of thousands already suffering.
The price of energy has already increased by £235 in the past year, with more than 500,000 households pushed into fuel poverty due to price cap rises.
And NEA figures show that those on the lowest incomes and with a long-term illness or disability have already seen their income drop by more than £1,000 in the past year.
Money champion Martin says the Government needs to urgently intervene otherwise more and more people will be facing a choice between “freezing or starving”.
“It's a devastating situation and I can’t see anything being put in place to stop it," he says,
"For the first time in my career all the ticks and tools I normally have aren't enough - my cupboard is bare. I have nothing.
“Some people are only going to get through this by sitting under three blankets, living in one room while the rest of the house is freezing and just trying to get through the day."
The founder of MoneySavingExpert says the Government could reduce VAT and use the revenue generated to support people who can’t afford their energy bills.
He also suggests increasing the Warm Home Discount Scheme and introducing a vulnerable customer price cap.
"Money needs to come from the Exchequer to support people, and we need an agreement from the Government that it is going to help - that’s crucially important," he adds.
Money champion Martin has donated £100,000 of his own money to the NEA to fund an advice service for vulnerable energy customers.
“We are seeing a fundamental and long-term shift in the rise of energy bills,” he tells the Mirror.
Speaking of his £100,000 donation, he adds: "It was a way of appeasing my own frustration that I couldn't help more. It's no accident the timing of me doing this: this is me very deliberately saying we desperately need to do something.
"I am willing to do my bit and now we need the Government to help."
Martin's tips:
1) Consider getting a fixed tariff
Martin says: “If you can get a fixed tariff that is no more than 40% above the price cap, that may be worth going for if you want price certainty. Some providers, such as Octopus Energy and Scottish Power, offer existing customer fixes which for some people are around the 40% level. If it is no more than the 40% price cap, you may want to fix. Otherwise, the answer for most people right now is to do nothing and stay on the price cap, or your current fix.”
2) Improve insulation in your home
Martin says: “Go to the Energy Saving Trust website for some tips on this. Simple things like thinking carefully about your usage and what times of day you need the heating on, or just heating one room, can make a difference.”
3) Turn the thermostat and radiators down
Martin says: “Just bringing it down by one degree can make a difference. Even things like putting a towel under the door can help. Thinking more carefully about our usage is also good for the environment.”
4) Think about budgeting everyday costs
Martin says: “There are ways you can maximise your income in other areas and cut other utility bills rather than just thinking about your energy usage. Unless we hear from the Government now on what they’re going to do, people need to start thinking about budgeting elsewhere.”
5) Use your smart metre and take regular metre readings
Taking regular metre readings and submitting them to your energy supplier will help you keep bills accurate and can help avoid any unexpected costs. Martin says: “Use your smart metre to see what you’re using when you don’t need to be - make things as efficient as possible."
6) Speak to your energy provider
Martin says: “If you’re struggling to pay your bills, urgently speak to your energy provider. We’re still under the Covid restrictions so you cannot be cut off. If you speak to them, they should be able to sort a payment plan for you.”
'It's a really anxious time'
Single mum Karen Blinco, 31, is a full-time student looking after two children, Mollie-Jo, 14, and Rosie, eight, in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
Karen can only afford to have the heating on once a day, after a charity donation of £140 towards her fuel costs failed to even last her a month and her Universal Credit was cut.
She says: "I put the girls' school uniforms on the radiator in the mornings and put the heating on for half an hour for a quick blast of heat so the girls don't feel freezing in the morning. It is more important for me that I have enough fuel so I can cook them dinner when they get home and so they can have a bath - if I had it on more, we would have to give up the dinners or the baths.
"We have eight throws in the living room and sometimes we have to go to my mum's for a shower to save on bills.
"Mollie-Jo goes straight to her bedroom when she gets home from school and gets under her duvet - that's how she keeps warm.
"The worst thing is that we've both got asthma, and I have had a chest infection now for six weeks - it's like the cold just sits on your chest.
"It is devastating, but it is the only choice I have if I want to keep the girls fed and bathed. I don't know how we will cope when the prices increase. I can only hope we will get help."
Despite having to go sometimes to her mum Susan’s house for a shower, Susan, 63, is also struggling to pay her bills after the death of her husband Joseph, 75, in August.
Karen adds: “It’s a really anxious time.”
'I don't know where we will get the money from'
John, 70, and his wife Wenefreda, 54, from Gloucestershire, are struggling to pay their bills after John had to pay back some of his state pension when a HMRC recalculation ruled he had been overpaid on pension credit.
Former mechanic John’s current tariff contract ends next month, and he is extremely worried about the possible increases to his bill.
Wenefreda works part-time as a cleaner so they are worried about how they’re going to make ends meet - they are struggling to pay their last bill of £92, which is set to double.
John says: “We’re just about keeping our heads above water right now, just about. However, these energy increases could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. I don’t know where we’ll get the money from.
“We are only putting the heating on when we absolutely have to. We only live in a one-bed bungalow, so £92 already seems like too much for us.
“It’s an extremely worrying time, especially as the temperature has dropped. We don’t have any options.
“I honestly don’t know what we are going to do - I think it’s going to get to the stage where we don’t put the heating on at all, which I think could cause me some health problems.”
John has been supported by Age UK, which is urging older people to call its free national advice line on 0800 169 65 65 before turning the heating off or down, to check they are receiving all the financial support available to them.
Age UK's charity director Caroline Abrahams says: “Make no mistake, this situation will have a devastating impact on the health of our older population unless the Government intervenes quickly and takes their fears away."
'The cold makes my arthritis worse'
Retired librarian Judith Figuiere, 76, from Stowmarket in Suffolk, is registered disabled as she has a spine injury and severe arthritis. Her energy bills have already more than doubled and she is terrified by the prospect of further rises.
She says: "I used to pay £61 a month to have the heating on for two hours in the morning and in the evening during winter. My energy contract finishes next month - I was offered a £157 fixed-term offer but I can't afford to pay for it as a pensioner on benefits.
“So I have drastically cut down my heating use - by 40%. The only way I can keep warm is to wear a thermal vest, long-sleeved t-shirt, a sweater, an electric blanket and a hot water bottle, and the cold makes my arthritis worse. And now I dont' stay up too late so that I don't start to feel the cold too punishingly.
“It makes my whole day so much slower, as I struggle to move when it is cold with my arthritis, it aggravates my arthritis - it takes me an hour and a half to get moving in the morning.
“Another energy provider has offered me a £190 fixed-term tariff but I cannot afford it, it would mean I can't afford to cook."
