As cash-strapped households prepare for the Ofgem price cap increase, struggling single dad Andrew tells the Mirror about the ‘living hell’ he’s had to endure being trapped in an agonising cycle of fuel poverty
Last winter, single father Andrew could only afford to turn the radiator on in his daughter’s room. This winter, his entire home will be freezing.
The single father expected an energy price hike on the horizon, but he was left completely shaken by this week’s devastating update. “It was soul-destroying,” Andrew said. “I knew it was going to rise, but I didn’t expect it to rise in double figures. That was a fright.”
From July onwards, the Ofgem price cap will skyrocket by 13 per cent to £1,862 a year for a typical dual-fuel household paying by direct debit. This marks an increase of £221, forcing families to find an extra £18 a month.
For Andrew, 44, it’s a significant sum. Speaking with the Mirror, an audibly emotional Andrew asked: “What are you supposed to do? Are you supposed to heat your home? Are you supposed to eat food? Some hard decisions are going to have to be made once again. And we got promised that this situation wasn’t going to happen. They were going to save us on our energy bills, but it’s now going through the roof.”
Unable to work because of a severe autoimmune disease, the devoted dad does everything in his power to shield his young daughter, Mia, from the grinding financial instability he faces every day. Last year, Andrew lost two stone from a lack of food, regularly skipping meals to ensure Mia didn’t go hungry.
The Fife-based father routinely resorts to living off leftovers from his daughter’s plate, and can’t remember the last time he bought himself clothes.
Andrew describes his current existence as “a living hell,” made worse by the rapid speed at which his daughter is growing. “I’m down to two pairs of trackie bottoms now that I have to constantly rotate,” Andrew admitted. “I have to watch when I put the washing machine on for my little girl’s school clothes, because she’s nine years old now and shooting through the roof.”
To cope with the price hike, Andrew is cutting back to the bare minimum: no after-school clubs, no “doing anything nice together”, and only buying the cheapest food.
Andrew said: “I’m going to have to stop putting the heating on at all when my daughter’s not in the house. It’s going to be an awful, awful cycle.”
Given his compromised immune system, he expects to spend the winter months constantly ill, noting that “Scotland is a cold place.” But his biggest fear isn’t his physical health – it’s what impact it will have on his daughter. “I’m having to sit in here and hide all this for my little girl, but she’s going to notice this year that her dad’s ill,” Andrew said. “She hates it when I’m ill. It’s horrible. She’s already lost her mum. She is scared that something will happen to me.”
Only last month, Andrew was forced to battle his energy provider when they tried to hike his bill to £232 a month. While he managed to get the sum lowered to £150 after explaining his situation, the prospect of another price hike is terrifying.
He likens his situation to “banging your head off against a brick wall”, questioning how people can be driven to such devastating circumstances in the UK.
He said: “Why is the country going back this way? We’re meant to be one of the richest countries in the world. Why are we not helping people who are ill? I worked all my life. Why am I not getting help through the system? Why are they not sitting there going, ‘Right, we’ll help you out, Andrew. Don’t worry about it’, but you seem to be forgotten..”
Sadly, Andrew, who is campaigning with The Trussell Trust for the government to take action, anticipates that there will be further pain to come. “The scary thing is I know what’s coming. It’s going to be a nightmare this winter, and I can feel it because I believe this is not just going to be the first rise.”
Helen Barnard, Trussell director of policy and research, shared his deep anxieties for the millions of families facing a catastrophic winter.
She said: “The announcement from Ofgem confirms our fears for food banks and people living in severe hardship. People on the lowest incomes will be disproportionately impacted by the rise in energy bills, and with a future increase expected in the coming months, this winter will be extremely difficult for people facing severe hardship.
“Trussell’s community of food banks provided more than 2.6 million emergency food parcels to people across the UK in 2025. This shouldn’t be the case. Food banks are already struggling, and these increasing costs will continue to pile on pressure. Food and other essential costs are already high and are now expected to rise further. This government is committed to ending reliance on emergency food provision. For this to happen, the government must take bold action, putting plans in place to protect people on the lowest incomes from further price hikes and to ensure that everyone can afford the essentials.”
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