The new British King Charles III.

and new Prime Minister Liz Truss begin their respective terms in the midst of turbulent times in Britain - not least because of the far-reaching energy crisis.

UK energy prices have been skyrocketing for months.

At the beginning of April, regulator Ofgem increased the maximum limit for heating and electricity by 50 percent – ​​to £1,277 (€1,530) a year.

In a next step, this price cap is to increase by 80 percent in October.

That's an annual cost of £3,549 (€4,088) for the average UK household, about three times what it was a year ago.

Carlota Brandis

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Most Britons are therefore looking forward to the coming winter with great concern.

According to the British statistics office ONS, almost half (48 percent) of adults only have "very or somewhat difficult" to pay for their energy costs.

Rising inflation is also contributing to this: a full 82 percent are very or somewhat concerned about the rising cost of living.

The inflation rate in the UK has recently fallen to 9.9 percent after exceeding 10 percent in July.

Forecasts predict another increase for September.

Is the heating off?

Many Britons want to act now: either they rarely turn on their heating in winter or they boycott their energy bills.

Around 70 percent of Britons want to turn up their heating less frequently from October and one in four do not want to turn it on at all.

This was the result of a survey by the market research institute Savanta ComRes.

Around one in ten is considering taking out a loan for the coming energy bill.

Others want to defend themselves against rising energy prices.

A national campaign called Don't Pay UK is calling on all Brits to boycott heating and electricity bills from October 1st.

The joint payments strike is dedicated to the big energy companies, which the campaign says should bear the brunt of rising prices instead of the consumer.

Although only 189,217 Britons have signed up for the campaign, a survey by Opinium Research shows significantly more supporters: A total of 1.7 million British households are said to want to suspend monthly bills from October.

The British government has already described the campaign as irresponsible and has warned of the possible consequences of boycotting the energy bill.

During Charles III.

in the days before Elizabeth II's funeral tries to give strength to the British, Truss devotes himself to the energy crisis.

The Prime Minister has already announced a price guarantee for two years so that an average energy bill will not exceed £2,500 (€2,880) and lifted a 2019 ban on fracking for energy.