- Rise in fuel poverty is a ‘national scandal’, By Graham Snowdon, October 14, 2010, The Guardian: “A senior charity executive has described the increase in fuel poverty as ‘a national scandal’ after official figures released today showed that the number of fuel-poor families rose to 4.5m in 2008, around one in six of all UK households. A fuel-poor family is defined as one that has to spend more than 10% of its income on heating its home to a decent standard. According to the latest data in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) statistics, an extra half a million households fell into this category from 2007-2008. The Annual Report on Fuel Statistics 2010 showed vulnerable households in the UK as a whole – around three-quarters of homes – were especially hard-hit, with fuel poverty in these homes rising to 3.75m in 2008, up by 500,000 from the previous year…”
- Fuel poverty doubles in five years, By Harry Wollop, October 14, 2010, The Telegraph: “With the average British fuel bill climbing to well over £1,000 a year – for many pensioners the largest bill they have to pay all year – a worryingly large number of people are struggling to keep their homes warm. A household is defined as being fuel poor if it has to spend 10 per cent or more of its income on paying to keep the home adequately warm. In 2003 the number of households hit a low of two million, but it climbed to four million in 2007 and then 4.5 million in 2008, the figures for which were published today by the Department of Energy & Climate Change…”
Tag: Fuel poverty
Rising Cost of Energy Bills – United Kingdom
Fuel poverty shock for Sedgemoor, By David Hemming, July 21, 2010, The West County: “NEARLY a quarter of households in Sedgemoor are struggling to cope with the rising cost of their energy bills, according to Government experts. The Fuel Poverty Advisory Group has revealed 22% of homes in the district – or roughly 10,000 people – are struggling to pay their bills … and there are fears that figure could rise yet further. The advisory group warns energy bills could increase by a further 50% on top of the 125% rise over the last six years. Chairman Derek Lickorish said the cost of energy infrastructure schemes and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emission, while essential, would be passed onto customers. He added: “Energy prices are set to rise so the Government needs a clear strategy on how it is going to end fuel poverty…”
Green Initiatives and Fuel Poverty – UK
Green steps ‘hurting people in fuel poverty’, July 12, 2010, BBC News: “People in fuel poverty face being unfairly hit by the costs of investment in energy infrastructure and reducing greenhouse gases, a report says. Such spending may see energy bills rise by 50% – on top of 125% rises seen in the past six years – the government’s Fuel Poverty Advisory Group said. This was ‘regressive’ and would ‘disproportionately’ impact those people on low incomes, it warned. Energy firms should prioritise the fuel poor, the group added. The group also urged the government to guarantee the future of the Warm Front scheme, which offers grants to tackle fuel poverty – defined as spending over 10% of household income on energy bills…”