MILLIONS of people in Britain could be forced to turn off their heating and hot water this winter due to an expected rise in household energy bills, new research shows.

A survey by Citizens Advice found that the number of those who believe they will need to take such drastic action increased to 31 per cent for households with children and 39 per cent for people on low incomes.

Nearly 50 per cent of those surveyed said they would need to turn down or off their heating or water if the energy price cap rises by the 9 per cent predicted by experts, as reported in the Morning Star yesterday.

A third of households surveyed said they would have difficulty affording food and other daily essentials such as mortgages, rent and childcare, while 7 per cent said they would be forced to skip meals.

The rise in bills comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced earlier that the winter fuel allowance would no longer be universal, and only pensioners on means-tested benefits would qualify this winter.

The government has launched a campaign drive to urge those who still qualify to secure winter fuel payments as the plans are expected to strip away the benefit from millions of elderly people.

Citizens Advice chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: “The price cap increase will see a wave of households tipped into debt, bill-payers forced to make impossible decisions to make ends meet, and families worried about the impact the cold will have on their loved ones.

“Energy prices might be down from the peak of the crisis, but with many already in the red and the removal of previous support packages, there’s still no light at the end of the tunnel for those in desperate need.”

End Fuel Poverty Coalition co-ordinator Simon Francis said: “We’re in August and people are already frightened about the winter to come.”

He said that solutions “take time to come to fruition and energy bills are unaffordable now and due to rise again in October.”

Mr Francis said that the government is “seriously off course when it comes to helping people stay warm this winter,” urging it to reinstate the winter fuel payments to more older people, introduce support to end energy debt and expand the Warm Home Discount and the Household Support Fund.