Energy costs

[pat]

I'm curious to know how people in other countries are being affected by rising energy costs.

Here in the UK we're paying:

Unleaded petrol, £1.76 per litre (3.04 AUD, 2.16 USD)
Diesel £1.86 per litre (3.21 AUD, 2.28 USD).

The annual price the average household is expected to pay for their combined gas and electricity in the early part of next year is:

£4,266 (7,357 AUD, 5228 USD). This is roughly half the annual state pension.

[blackrockrose]

Here in Muswellbrook (country NSW) we're paying A$2.05 for diesel, A$1.64 for unleaded. This is down from a recent high of about $2.25 and $2.00 respectively.

We recently locked in a 'Senior Saver' electricity plan for 12 months, which will see us paying about $1900 this year. This covers cooking, lights, hot water and appliances. Electricity prices have risen dramatically in recent times in NSW and some other states, so we expect to pay much more when our current plan expires. 

For heating we have a combination of LPG and firewood. LPG costs $203 for a 45 kg cylinder, and we usually need four to get us through the winter, plus a $250 load of firewood. That's an annual cost of $2962 for electricity, gas and firewood. Our government has made a mess of gas prices by allowing producers to export gas and not leaving enough to meet local demand. 

The maximum state pension (it's means tested, so not everyone gets the full amount) is about $26,000 for singles and $39,000 for couples.

I would not like to be living in the UK right now and trying to survive on a state pension.