A Somerset MP is urging the government to stop the energy bill hike for pensioners already affected by winter fuel payment cuts, writes Matt Evans.
Sarah Dyke, the Liberal Democrat MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, is demanding urgent action to prevent another energy price increase for pensioners who have already lost their winter fuel payments.
Recently, energy regulator Ofgem confirmed that the energy price cap will rise by 6.4 per cent in April.
Ms Dyke raised concerns about the devastating impact this will have on elderly residents across Somerset, many of whom are already struggling with the cost of living crisis and typically require more heating than urban areas.
She said: "This energy price hike is yet another blow to vulnerable pensioners who have seen their winter fuel payments cut.
"Residents have told me how desperately worried they are about losing their winter fuel payments, it’s one of the biggest issues in my casework.
"For many, those payments really were the difference between being able to keep warm this winter or not.
"The government must take immediate action and scrap this energy bill increase.
"It is absolutely disgraceful for the government to stand by and watch this happen and I’m calling on them to do the right thing: pensioners must be exempted from this potentially life-threatening rise in costs."
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