Growing energy costs revealed by official data
THE POLITICAL row over energy prices was fuelled further yesterday by official data that showed British households are spending a larger share of their disposable incomes on the same amount of gas and electricity, due to recent price hikes.
“Between 2003 and 2013, the proportion of households’ disposable income spent on gas and electricity has risen from 1.8 per cent to 3.1 per cent, largely as a consequence of higher prices, rather than greater household consumption,” said the Office for National Statistics.
The proportion of disposable income spent on household essentials has risen from around 19.9 per cent in 2003 to 27.3 per cent in 2013. Yet households’ true disposable income is little changed since quarter two of 2009.