A survey suggests 2.5m people are struggling to pay their bills each month, 300,000 more than 2010 before the double-dip recession.
The Legal & General Money Mood survey suggests two out of five homes already say they are or almost are in fuel poverty, so any extra increases could tip many into debt.
Wales, London, the West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside have the largest number of households in fuel poverty.
Mark Gregory, Legal & General’s executive director savings, said: “Higher inflation figures for October will not be welcome news and we believe the cost of fuel is likely to make balancing household finance even harder for those with lower incomes.”
A North/South divide is also apparent with far more households struggling in the North, but the number of struggling households in the south have risen significantly since the start of the recession, said L&G.
