People in Glasgow are disconnecting their own electricity supply because they can’t afford the bills, according to a new report.

People are shutting down their electric and rationing their energy use in the face of rising charges.

There has also been a huge rise in the number of people seeking advice about their gas and electric bills.

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The Lights Off to Lights On report, by social enterprise organisation the Wise Group, found people who live in homes with electric heating are the most likely to ration use or self-disconnect as it is more expensive that gas.

Wise Group said the energy crisis has left people unable to boil a kettle or cook their dinner.

And customers have told them of spending the day in a sleeping bag just to stay warm.

Of those who said they ration or disconnect their electricity and heating, 75.4% do so at least every week in Greater Glasgow.

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The group had a 185% increase in people seeking help with energy bills during the Codi 19 pandemic.

The report found 26% of Wise Group clients had retained or disconnected their energy supply.

Bills have started to rise as the cost of wholesale gas paid for by the suppliers has rocketed.

It has led to a number of energy providers going out of business, with Bulb, the seventh largest in the UK the latest to go into ‘special administration’.

Many people on prepayment face higher tariffs and most at risk of fuel poverty and Wise Group said one respondent to their survey told of having just 89p of electricity to last them to the end of the week and she had cut down to only her fridge and a reading lamp using power in her home.

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The report highlighted Michael from Glasgow who spent most of his daily life in a sleeping bag while coping with fuel poverty in his flat.

A former lawyer he was unable to work while dealing with mental health and addiction issues. Michael was unable to afford heating or hot water before he sought help from Wise Group.

He said: “I had nothing, I had nowhere to turn. I didn’t think anyone would be able to help, and I was reluctant to ask for support. I didn’t even know there was help out there.

“I’ve struggled with my mental health, and when I was unable to heat my flat or get hot water, everything seemed harder to cope with. I’d spend the day in my sleeping bag to stay warm.

“You just don’t ever think there’s going to be a way out when you have to live like that, it’s easy to feel like you’ve been forgotten.”

Sean Duffy, Wise Group chief executive, said it is a crisis.

Mr Duffy said: “Almost a quarter of Scots live in fuel poverty. As a result, vulnerable people are choosing to self-disconnect their energy supply to save money, and as the temperatures drop, the decision to choose between eating and heating becomes increasingly stark.

”We have seen increasing numbers choosing to disconnect their energy supply, or at risk of self-disconnection for a variety of reasons. These households are hidden from the traditional ‘in debt’ description of the ‘vulnerable customer’ because they have chosen to disconnect.

“At The Wise Group, we are working hard to support and mentor as many customers in this position as possible.”

It is not purely an issue in areas of high deprivation. The report found 56.6% of those rationing energy live outside of the top 20% most deprived areas in Scotland, with some living in the least deprived 20%.

Wise Group mentors help people with issues around fuel poverty and has saved customers £1.5 million in written off debt and energy advice in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.