Energy crisis: Woman has to starve in order to stay warm

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Emma Martin, a 40-year-old dinner lady from Hartlepool, Durham, uses energy giant EDF. In what the company says was a mistake, Ms Martin was left shocked after her electric bill soared.

While Ms Martin’s monthly gas payment stayed the same, her EDF electric bill had surged while she was changing her payment plan.

After being left shocked about the massive cost, Ms Martin said she tried to get in contact with EDF to explain the situation, but she was unable to get an answer.

When she managed to speak to someone on the energy company’s online forum, she was asked “would you like to split the payment over 36 months?”

Speaking to the MailOnline, Ms Martin shared she had “a bit of a panic”.

She told the outlet: “I instantly knew there had been a mistake but no one from EDF would reassure me the problem would be sorted out.

“When I called their phone lines they just cut out and on their online chat they replied around once every 16 hours.

“When I finally did get through to someone they plainly asked me if I wanted to split the payment over 36 months which was just mental.

“As you can imagine I was very concerned.”

In a statement, EDF said a mistake had been made by the company.

A spokesman said: “When setting up the Direct Debit online, an incorrect electricity meter reading was submitted which resulted in the higher monthly charge.

“Mrs Martin has never received a bill for this amount and we’ve now corrected the meter readings.”

It comes ahead of the UK’s energy price cap, the maximum amount a utility company can charge an average customer per year for the amount of electricity and gas they use, having its next review on February 7.

The most recent cap was set at £1,277 on 6 August 2021, a rise of 12 per cent or £139 from the previous review, but industry analysts fear the coming reassessment could see an increase of as much as 51 per cent brought in.

That would send household power bills in Britain soaring to £1,995 a year.

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