Woman says she plans to have a microwave Christmas lunch because she can't afford to use her oven amid soaring energy bills

• A woman said she was expecting to have a microwave Christmas lunch due to soaring energy prices in the UK.
• The woman told the BBC she couldn't afford to use her oven due to high electricity costs.

A British woman said she was expecting to have a microwave Christmas lunch because she couldn't afford to use her oven amid soaring energy prices.

Kristie, who requested to remain anonymous, told the BBC she made the decision because electricity bills were so high.

She told the news agency: "I can't afford to put on the cooker — I'm using the microwave. So how am I going to cook Christmas dinner for me and my son?"

She added that she was better off buying a microwaveable ready meal to avoid being left with unmanageable energy bills.

Energy costs have been escalating in recent months as Russia's war with Ukraine puts pressure on global gas supplies.

Britons have been worried about high energy bills as temperatures drop around the country. Some residents say they have resorted to wearing jackets inside and not heating their homes as prices soar.

Kristie said she and her son also planned to cut back on gifts because they can't "afford anything else" amid a cost-of-living crisis that is gripping the nation.

UK inflation was at a 40-year high of 10.1%, as of October 19.

According to a BBC survey of more than 4,000 people, three in five people in the UK planned to cut back on their spending this Christmas due to cost of living concerns.

A spokesperson for His Majesty's Treasury told Insider: "Countries around the world are facing rising costs, driven by Putin's illegal war in Ukraine, and we know this is affecting people here in the UK."

"The government's Energy Price Guarantee will save the typical household around £700 this winter, based on what energy prices would have been under the current price cap — reducing bills by roughly a third. In addition, we have provided at least an extra £1,200 of cost-of-living support to 8 million of the most vulnerable households."