Household Energy Spending in the UK, 2002-2012

From the U.K. Office for National Statistics, on the regressive nature of increasing energy costs.

Full Report: Household Energy Spending in the UK, 2002-2012 - ONS:

Household Energy Spending: 7 things you should know

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1. UK households spent an average of £106 a month on household energy in 2012. This was a 55% rise on the 2002 monthly spend, after accounting for inflation. This is despite a decline in average energy usage.
UK households spent an average of £106 a month on electricity, gas and other household fuels1 in 2012. This compares to £69 a month in 2002, after adjusting for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This means there was a 55% increase in average household spending on energy between 2002 and 2012.
Over this same time period, household energy use has fallen, with figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) showing that the average amount of energy used per household was 17% lower in 2012 than in 2002. This means the increase in the average amount households are spending is explained solely by rises in energy prices.
2. Average household spending on gas increased 56%, while average spending on electricity increased 43%...3. On average, households spent the equivalent of 5.1% of their income on household energy in 2012, up from 3.3% in 2002...4. The poorest fifth of households spent 11% of their income on household energy in 2012, up from 8% in 2002. The richest fifth spent just 3% in 2012 up from 2% in 2002...5. Retired households consistently spent a greater percentage of their income on household fuel than non – retired households...6. The average Winter Fuel/Cold Weather payment to a retired household was equivalent to 20% of their typical energy bill in 20127. The average household in Northern Ireland spent a substantially higher amount on energy than the average household in other UK countries.