Scots Burn Energy Bills in Protest Against Cost-of-Living Crisis – Videos

The UK’s Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) raised the cap on annual energy bills by 80% on August 26 amid soaring gas prices across Europe and energy generation shortages at home. The new cap is set at £3,549 (around $4,189) putting many Brits at risk of choosing between food and heating this winter.

Scottish citizens have gathered outside the Ofgem energy regulatory building in Glasgow to protest against high inflation, the surging cost of the living, and price tags on food and fuel.

UK 🇬🇧 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 GLASGOW Demonstrators gather outside the Energy Regulatory Building in Protest against Inflation, Cost of Living, Food and Energy Prices 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/t3Hcw4xrZy

— Holy Troller (@IscoPar5) August 27, 2022

The protesters sang songs and chanted, demanding a freeze on prices and refusing to pay utility their bills. Some of the protesters were spotted burning their energy bills that have surged dramatically over the past year and are expected to jump even higher in coming months.

Londoners were also out on the streets in front of the Ofgem building, which announced an 80% increase in the energy price cap on August 26. The price cap is a yearly limit for gas and electricity bills. The jump means households will shift from paying a maximum of £1,971 ($2,326) to £3,549 (around $4,189) per year.

This was the second cap increase this year following a 54% increase in April.

Protest outside the UK's energy regulator HQ against upcoming 80% rise in the energy price cap

The @dontpayuk campaign is growing by the day, encouraging people to stop paying their bills https://t.co/qLIac9o8PJ

— Emily Lewis (@EmCLew) August 26, 2022

The UK government has promised that it will offer some assistance for Brits, but is yet to unveil concrete measures. British NGOs and charities have already sounded the alarm, warning that low-income citizens might have to choose between food and heating this winter, with some possibly unable to be able to afford either.

The grim warnings come amid decades-high inflation that struck the UK at the end of 2021. The situation was exacerbated by the lack of domestic energy-generation and shortage of gas supply in Europe. The latter prompted a surge in electricity prices. The European gas shortage is, in turn, a by-product of western sanctions against Russia, which blocked the launch of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and impeded Gazprom's ability to maintain the pumping stations of Nord Stream 1, resulting in a drop in supply.