Combatting fuel poverty
This week, 12 organisations – including Energywatch which is about to go into Consumer Focus (of which I am a Board member) – have published a 10-point charter for overcoming fuel poverty in the UK.
Fuel poverty has become a national disaster – five million households in the UK won’t be able to afford to heat and power their homes this winter. Over 20,000 deaths – mostly older people – are recorded each year in England alone due to the cold, and the rise in the number of fuel poor is likely to put more lives at risk this winter. Many families with young children are forced to choose between heating their homes and cooking a hot meal.
The Charter criticises the Government for failing to do enough to help people struggling to pay their fuel bills. The experts are calling on Ministers to ramp up energy efficiency and renewable energy measures for homes, make the energy market fairer for consumers, reform the Fuel Poverty Strategy and take action to increase the incomes of those who can’t afford to heat and power their homes.