A woman has chosen to live in her tower block home “off-grid” because of crippling fuel bills.
Carol Chambers, 47, is thought to be among thousands of people already without electricity as energy costs soar. She was cut off by her supplier and has opted to use solar power, candles and blankets to get through the winter.
Carol has spent around £200 on a “survival pack”, including power banks, solar panels and solar lamps and a camping stove. She plans to brave the cold Scottish winter and has no intention of trying to get her supply reinstated.
Carol said: “I’m doing this partly as a protest but I can’t afford to turn my heaters on in any case. It will cost a tenner a day for my storage heaters to be on and that would swallow up the vast majority of my monthly cash.
“All the other stuff, like my iPhone, iPad, lighting and cooking I can get from sunlight and gas canisters.”
Carol was cut off after a wrangle with her energy supplier and is furious at the vast profits made by the big providers. She told the Record of her extraordinary stance as money-saving expert Martin Lewis warned many people in the UK will die of cold because of the government’s lack of action on fuel bills.
Carol said: “My daughter has told me I’m taking things too far and she wants me to get the electric back on. I have bought in catering flasks and I will fill them in the morning from the gas stove.
“I intend to go to the local swimming pool every day to get showered and there are free electricity charging points where I will charge my power banks. I’ve got a plan and I’m going to stick to it.”
Carol’s stance comes as average annual fuel bills are set to reach more than £3500. She gets by on about £500 Employment and Support Allowance each month.
But she believes running her heating every day could swallow up almost all of her cash. She added: “I’m resigned to being cold and to layering up and keeping moving. I can prove to these profiteering, greedy suppliers that I don’t need them.
“I would urge anyone else in my position to refuse to pay bills if it is pushing them into starvation.”
Carol spent the last couple of days shopping in camping and budget supermarket stores to get vital supplies. She said: “I got a job lot of gas canisters and some solar powered lamps from Black’s and then I got a camping stove.
“I can cook all I want on the stove and I just have to accept there will be some difficult times ahead. But I’ll be OK.”
Gas canister stoves are designed to be used outdoors and should only be used in a well-ventilated space. Scottish Tenants Association spokesperson Sean Clerkin said more people will consider copying Carol.
He said: “Make no mistake, there will be hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland who cannot pay their bills and many more who will refuse to on principle.
“The Government has failed to take any action and this energy price bomb has now exploded. It is a disgrace that a woman like Carol is being forced to take this drastic action.”
Peter Kelly, director of the Poverty Alliance, said: “Citizens Advice suggests as many as 88 per cent of households that self-disconnect have a child or someone with long-term health issues living in them.
“The UK Government, Ofgem and the big energy companies can act now to protect vulnerable households, and together, we can start to rebalance our economy and repair and renew our social security, so no one is left in the dark and cold due to lack of income.”
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