Energy accounts for more of the average household budget than might be expected. Energy expenditure averaged £15 a week, or 4.8 per cent of total household expenditures, according to the Economic and Social Research Institute's (ESRI) Household Energy Expenditures: Policy Relevant Information from the Household Budget Survey.

Electricity accounted for more than 40 per cent of the total.

Between 1987 and 1994, energy expenditure increased by 5.3 per cent in real terms, but this masks larger changes between sectors and fuel shares, the survey said.

Interestingly, urban households increased energy expenditures by just over 1 per cent while rural energy increased by 12 per cent.

Expenditure on gas rose by 97 per cent and on oil by 110 per cent.