Disabled man considers cooking a 'luxury' due to energy bills
A disabled man living on a limited income says his energy bills are so high that he can only afford the "luxury" of cooking one fresh meal a week.
Thirugnanam “Thiru” Sureshan, 52, from Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, has various medical conditions, which include osteoarthritis and sleep apnoea, that requires him to use specialist electrical equipment.
His wheelchair alone costs between £4 and £5 a night to charge, and he can only afford to power it twice a week.
The increased energy usage has seen his electricity bill rise to around £300 a month.
Mr Sureshan said the added costs has meant he does not put the oven on and only uses the hob once a week to batch cook food with his wife. The couple reheat the food in the microwave.
"We try to avoid as much as we can on luxuries, like cooking and everything. We need to cut it down."
The Department for Work and Pensions said although it could not comment on energy bills during the pre-election period, it encouraged people to speak to their local council for extra cost of living support through the Household Support Fund.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), showed that when asked “how easy or difficult is it to afford your energy payments?”, disabled people were more likely to find it “somewhat difficult” or “extremely difficult”.
Mr Sureshan said the high cost of electricity had impacted his family as well as rising food prices.
He said he had struggled to afford their weekly shop, which can often cost around £120.
He wants the next government to focus on supporting disabled people who are struggling to pay their energy bills. He said it would enable them to have peace of mind and to live safely and comfortably.
“They [the government] are not looking after us disabled people who desperately need some sort of help towards energy bills. I want them [the government] to take this chance and help us."
'Energy debt mountain'
David Southgate, policy manager at disability charity Scope, has called for an energy tariff discount for disabled people. He said their needs must be prioritised by the next government.
He said: “The government in the future needs to make sure they're addressing that energy debt mountain. To do that, they need to introduce 'a help to repay scheme' to help disabled people pay off the debt.”
What the parties have to say
A Conservative spokesperson said: “The number one thing we can do to help families with the cost of living is to bring down inflation – and the news that inflation is back to 2% is helping.
“We’ve also extended the Household Support Fund, giving local authorities an extra £500 million to support people in their local area with the cost of essentials, with a focus on supporting those living with disability.”
Labour says it has a "fully-costed, fully-funded plan" to tackle the cost of living, bring down energy bills, and "get the economy growing again to deliver the change that people across the South East need".
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: "I am putting fixing the care crisis at the heart of the Liberal Democrat offer to the country at this election."
The party has also announced plans to provide free personal care that covers help with mobility, hygiene and medication, as well as nursing care, regardless of where people live.
Reform UK says it hopes to cut energy taxes on "ordinary people", removing VAT from energy bills, and removing all subsidies from renewable companies.
"They say they can produce cheaper energy, then why do they need £11bn in subsidy per year when it could go to poor people like this instead?", a party spokesperson said.
The Green Party said energy bills are too high because "we have the worst-insulated homes in Europe" and it would bring bills down by spending £29bn on a street-by-street insulation retrofit programme.
The party said: "Alongside this we would increase Universal Credit and legacy benefits by £40 a week, and restore the value of disability benefits, with an immediate uplift of 5%."
Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.
