Research by social enterprise Behaviour Change shows that 36 per cent of bill payers worry about their energy bills, ahead of paying the mortgage/rent (15 per cent), petrol costs (12 per cent) and food costs (11 per cent).
The majority of people polled (65 per cent) blamed energy companies making “excessive profits from their customers”.
The survey also revealed that one week after the launch of the Green Deal, just over a third of people (39 per cent) had heard of it. Even fewer (30 per cent) agreed “people need to install measures such as insulation to make their homes more efficient and bring energy bills down”.
Despite these results, David Hall, executive director of Behaviour Change, said “the Green Deal is a great start” in making people aware of energy efficiency measures.
“More work is needed to help people understand the benefits of energy efficiency in keeping bills under control,” he added. “A more comprehensive national plan, including a package of sticks and carrots, will be required to create the kind of mainstream acceptance that is needed.”