last updated 18th November 05
by 4ecotips.com

Warning comes from campaigners

This warning comes as part of the Warm Homes Campaign, the annual winter awareness campaign, organised by energy efficiency charity National Energy Action (NEA), that aims to raise awareness of the plight of households who cannot afford to heat their homes adequately, the benefits of energy efficiency in reducing the numbers of these fuel poor households and the availability of grant aid to low-income households.

The Warm Homes Campaign 2005 runs throughout November and is organised in association with Powergen, part of E.ON UK.

William Gillis, NEA Chief Executive, says: "Two years of escalating energy prices have hit vulnerable households hardest. We estimate that price rises since 2003 have made almost one million additional households fuel poor. Unless immediate action is taken we could see much of the good work to reduce fuel poverty over the last few years reversed.

"Current programmes to tackle fuel poverty do not take account of rapidly rising energy prices. The Government needs to recognise the damaging effects of rising energy prices on fuel-poor households and provide more funding to deliver additional and better-targeted energy efficiency programmes.

"The Chancellor must look at imposing a windfall tax on upstream energy producers, who are profiting at the expense of vulnerable households, and channelling the proceeds into fuel poverty programmes. Energy companies must do more to protect vulnerable customers from the worst effects of spiralling domestic energy costs by providing more creative domestic social energy tariffs."

One in 10 UK households meet the definition of fuel poverty because they need to spend more than 10% of their income on keeping their homes warm. However, many simply can't afford to spend this amount on fuel bills and face falling into debt with their energy supplier, or spending the winter in a cold, inadequately heated home or cutting back on other essentials such as food and clothing.

To make matters worse, gas and electricity prices have risen by 35% since 2003. The Department of Trade and Industry estimates that for every 1% rise in energy prices, an extra 40,000 households become fuel poor.