The research also revealed that energy costs are the top worry for homeowners, with 90 per cent saying it’s a worry, ahead of the cost of food (75 per cent) petrol prices (66 per cent) and council tax (49 per cent).
The survey added that if energy bills hit the £1,500 a year “tipping point” – the average bill is currently £1,434 – then 59 per cent of households will be going without adequate heating, and a third (36 per cent) “will be forced to turn their heating off entirely”.
Seven out of ten (69 per cent) of respondents said they went without heating at some point last winter to keep their energy costs down, and 35 per cent said it had affected their quality of life or health.
Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at Uswitch.com, said: “When it comes to affordable energy the country is at crisis point.
“Consumers are being forced to turn down and switch off in an attempt to shield themselves from the impact of higher fuel bills.”
She added that the government “has got to get competition working” as this is the only way to ensure consumers get better deals and fairer prices.
Climate change minister Greg Barker said the government is “determined to do even more to help hard working people with the cost of rising energy bills”.
He added: “That is why we are going further than any government before in simplifying energy tariffs to enable customers to switch to the best tariffs to suit their needs.”