Glasgow reacts as Ofgem warns of further energy price cap rise in October

We took to the streets to find out what the people of Glasgow think of the potential new increase.

Elizabeth Limond said: “I don’t know what we’re gonna do. How are people meant to survive?

“People in power are getting richer and we’re getting poorer, that’s it in a nutshell.

“You see it in the streets, there’s more and more people begging.”

READ MORE: Martin Lewis issues 'ticking timebomb' warning to UK homeowners

“We’re just about managing and no more,” added Irene McDonalds.

“The country is in a hell of a state, it’s terrible.”

“This is one of the richest countries in the world and what’s happened to it.”

Irene Colville said: “It’s shocking, I think once the winter comes in, it’s really going to hit people.

“And it’s not just energy, it’s food and fuel, even clothes are going up.

“I feel sorry for the families with children.” Stewart Welch While Stewart Welch is just about managing by sharing his bills with two other adults in his household, his mother is feeling the pressure of the price increases.

“It’s absolutely rotten,” he said. “But it doesn’t surprise me prices are going up again and they’ll probably exponentially increase.

“My mum’s on prepayment and she’s struggling, she’s topping up her meter every other day.

“It’s a struggle, it’s three adults in my house sharing the bills, so that helps, but I can imagine for a lot of families it’s really really bad just now.”

Angela Kenneth believes renewables would be key to keeping energy affordable.

READ MORE: Glasgow public asked for views on future of People's Palace in bid to secure £25m for restoration

She said: “It’s horrendous.

“I think this will push people into wanting independence because Scotland is a nation almost entirely existing on renewable energy.

“It’s dramatic. I don’t drive, so I don’t buy fuel, but I know how much my electricity has gone up and I don’t earn a huge amount, I’m not far off minimum wage.

Angela Kenneth

“It’s inevitable,” she added. “We should not be using anywhere near the amount of petrol and electricity we are now.

“My hope is that people will understand we don’t have to keep paying these prices because we have enough energy that is produced by renewable resources in Scotland.”

Mark Boston has recently retrofitted his house but he still saw a spike in bills.

“It’s horrible really,” he said. “My initial thought is we should be using more nuclear power and bring the costs down, cause it’s a real issue for everybody at the moment.

“My bills have shot up and I’m fortunate I can afford to pay them.

“I do think we could make better use of the energy, taking steps to bring our consumption down but a lot of people are in genuine fuel poverty.”

Mark Boston

READ MORE: Glasgow nightclub boss warns ScotRail timetable could impact gig-goers

Pam Holland said: “It’s dreadful, we have friends and families who are struggling, who have also had mortgage increases, the food prices have increased, it’s terrible.

“I don’t know how families will find the money, the government should be there for the people and do something about it.”

Pam Holland

Peter Cullen added: “It’s not too bad for me at the moment, but I can see it getting worse.

“It’s a bit much, I know they are looking at taxing and everything else but that’s not going to happen.

“That’s just a stopgap.”

Peter Cullen

On Tuesday, Ofgem suggested energy bills would be likely to rise by £800 in October.

The current cap for the average household is £1,971 for those on default tariffs paying by direct debit.

This was only introduced in April after an increase of £693 a year, due to rapidly rising wholesale energy costs.