Up to 7.8 million families across Britain suffer a "heavy burden" to keep up with spiking bills, the Financial Conduct Authority has said, noting that the number is 2.5 million higher than in 2020.
According to the survey held among 19,000 Brits, around 60% of people find it hard to keep up with rising bills. Average household bills rose 64% in October alone, capping the record level of £2,500 ($2,800) a month, while gas prices for British consumers spiked more than twofold in a year.
A separate poll held by the Heating and Hot Water Industry Council showed that 93% of respondents were worried about the price of heating, and over half claimed that they would not be turning the heating on if they couldn't afford to pay for it.
Since 2021, energy prices in Europe have been growing as part of a global trend. After the beginning of Russia's operation in Ukraine, the US, UK and EU adopted several packages of sanctions against Moscow, which exacerbated issues, resulting in a full-scale energy crisis and a wave of inflation across Europe.