But the Warrington couple are still cutting back on luxuries to cover bills.
“We get a rise on our pension but it gets taken off you by food, petrol and everything else going up all the time so really you don’t benefit,” he said.
There is some hope on the horizon in spring, though. In the Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said some levies placed on energy bills would go, lowering bills for millions of households by £150 a year from April.
That included cutting a scheme that was designed to tackle fuel poverty and help reduce carbon emissions, as well as shifting some costs onto general taxation.
People on fixed deals in April would still benefit from the changes, the government has confirmed.
However, about £30 will be knocked off those annual savings from April to pay for maintaining gas networks and strengthening the electricity transmission network.
There are also signs of lower wholesale costs, paid by suppliers.
Analysts at energy consultancy Cornwall Insight predict an 8% drop in the price cap in April – the equivalent of a fall of £138 to £1,620 a year for a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity.
