Nearly 50 a day have electricity supply cut off

As many as 49 people a day saw their electricity supply shut off last year because they could not afford to pay their bills — almost double the figure at the start of the recession.

The Commission for Energy Regulation’s annual report for 2011 has found the service was cut-off from 17,794 people — 49 a day — as the economic crisis tightened its grip.

The figure, which represents 0.8% of all households and business customers, is up 7% on the 16,679 cases in 2010 and is almost 100% higher than the 9,709 disconnections in 2009.