Church to launch ‘heating hub’ to help families deal with energy crisis

A South Ronaldsay church is to throw open its doors and is urging people to use its facilities in an initiative designed to help families cope with the crippling rise in energy prices.

From the beginning of October — when typical household energy bills are set to rise by 80 per cent to £3,459 — St Margaret’s Church is encouraging South Ronaldsay and Burray residents to stop heating their homes and instead make the most of their “heating hub”.

Every weekday, the church will be open, where people can chat, study, knit and drink coffee — for the whole day if need be, saving money by reducing energy usage in their homes, up to 50p an hour for every 1kW heater.

The gesture drew widespread praise online — a “fantastic response to a desperate situation” said one Facebook user. The initiative also drew praise from Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael.

You don’t need to have an existing connection to the church and children must be accompanied.

Mr Carmichael said: “Right now people are desperate to know that someone is on their side and will help them through the winter months. Seeing a church congregation step up to do what they can will offer a little bit of hope to a lot of people.

“Of course initiatives like this are not going to be the whole answer. For that we need the government to take the lead. People are scared about what the next few months might bring and they want to know that they will not just be left to sink or swim.

“We can be proud of groups like South Ronaldsay and Burray Church and the thousands of people in food banks and community groups who are doing their bit to help their neighbours. It remains a stain on our country’s conscience that they have to.”

The typical household energy bill is set to rise by around 80 per cent after energy regulator Ofgem announced that energy price cap was to rise to £3,459 from October.

And it could be set to get worse after energy consultancy firm Cornwall Insight has suggested that a typical annual bill could hit nearly £5,400 in January, and £6,600 in April, representing a £550-a-month bill.