There has been significant press coverage in recent months, but as from the start of this month the hurt really begins. We’ve all been told how much more our gas and electricity unit prices are going to cost from now onwards and it’s frightening. Regularly 40%-70% higher and there’s nothing we can do about it. Or is there?

Shopping around for the best deal is still available, but it’s a cartel between the providers and one energy company is going to charge the same unit price as the next one. Looking for a better tariff has been a popular alternative over the years, but there’s now an obligation on the energy providers to check you are on the best version for your usage, such that there is little mileage left here either.

We need to think about how we can manage usage

But cost is a combination of both usage and unit price. If we can’t do anything about the latter, perhaps we can cope better with the increase in energy costs by controlling usage? I’m not suggesting we need to turn the heating off for large chunks of the day to the detriment of our well-being, but maybe more active management of switches in the house will reduce usage and compensate for the unit price increases? We can’t all simply afford to shrug our shoulders and pay the higher costs. We need to think about how we can manage usage downwards and then actually do something about it.

The government suggested that we should all have a smart meter for our gas and electricity consumption and that, as a result, our costs would go down. What a nonsense! A smart meter doesn’t save you money – it simply tells you how much you are spending. If you want to save, you have to change your behaviour and then the smart meter will tell you how successful you have been. The concept of using modern technology to help control costs is good, but it’s not the solution on its own.

Will there be ‘winners’ out of the debacle? The energy companies for sure, but hopefully not manufacturers of woolly jumpers or hot water bottles as we resort to other means of keeping warm. Nobody wants that, but we have to think about how we manage our daily actions in the face of such an aggressive hike in basic prices.