WIDOW and mum-of-three Louise Parker says it’s “obscene” that energy fat cats are pocketing huge bonuses while she works three jobs to cover her soaring bills.
Her bills have already more than doubled from £68 to £151 a month since her fixed rate tariff ended in May.
Louise Parker, 48, who is worried about her energy bills with her Children Heather Parker, 12, Christian Parker, 13, and Michael Parker, 15
If analysts’ predictions come true, her annual bills will reach almost £3,600 in October and close to £5,000 by January.
She said: “In all honesty it’s obscene…I would never dream of taking the money knowing that my lovely luxury lifestyle is leaving loads of people on the poverty line.”
Today, energy analysts said bills could hit £5,00 in April.
Families are facing a nightmare scenario, with rising bills far outstripping incomes, as well as other rising costs due to inflation and the war in Ukraine.
Yesterday, SE revealed how fatcat bosses will earn £15million as Brits choose between heating and eating.
Louise, a 48 year-old from Higham Ferrers, Northants clocks up more than 50 hours a week just to stay afloat.
Louise says she has completely stopped cooking Sunday roasts and cakes – which she has a passion for – because of the spiralling costs.
“It’s ok now while the weather is good, but we can’t live on salads through the coldest months.
“I’ve already had to tell the kids: ‘there’s no Christmas this year – you’ll get one small present each’.”
“It’s scary going into the winter and wondering if we are going to start the new year in a load of debt.”
“I’d quite happily turn the telly off and play board games, but we’ve got to be able to turn the lights on and keep warm.”
On top of her full-time job as an office manager, she’s taken on extra work as a barmaid at evenings and weekends, which she tops up with shifts waitressing at events.
It leaves her little time to spend with her children Heather, 12, Christian, 13, and Michael, 15 and she is still resorting to credit cards just to pay for the basics.
Since her husband, Neil, died from diabetes five years ago at the age of 57, Louise has had to get by on a single income with no savings.
Soaring energy, petrol and grocery costs mean that her earnings of £30,000-a-year are no longer stretching far enough.
“We’ve adjusted everything – I shop at Lidl, I grab yellow-sticker deals, I cook from scratch, I read all Martin Lewis’s tips and I’m in every Facebook group for saving money that I could possibly be in, we don’t have Sky TV.
“All the things people tell you to cancel, we don’t have so there’s not a lot else to cut out.”
Louise makes sure the whole family is really careful about how much energy they use.
“I run around, turning everything off.
“I’ll scream at the kids for leaving the bathroom light on and I’ve even threatened to take the bulb out.”
Louise says she can’t afford to give the children pocket money anymore, but her eldest two were keen to start earning their own as soon as they were able.
Michael now works at the local shop stacking shelves and his brother, Christian, has a paper round.
“They are very responsible. They have already lost their father so they’ve been through a lot.”