UK Fuel Poverty Strategy Help and Grants
The UK government has always said it wants to eradicate fuel poverty, so how is it being dealt with?
Fuel Poverty Definition
The simple definition of fuel poverty in the UK is that people are in poverty if their fuel bills are more than 10% of their household expenditure. With the average Energy Cap fuel bill of approximately £1,690, then people with annual expenses of £16,900 fall into the poverty bracket.
Government Strategy
The government’s overall aim is to eradicate fuel poverty completely by 2030. However, recent research by Citizen’s Advice suggests that 5.3 million homes in the UK (England, Wales, and Scotland) struggle to pay their fuel bills. This figure is 1.3 million less than when DECC undertook similar research in 2010.
With around 25 million homes in the UK of which about 70% are owner-occupied this suggests that around a quarter of the population find financial difficulty with paying their energy bills. And with some electricity and gas prices the highest ever and prices only set to increase to pay for the investments in alternative fuels this figure may be hard to reduce over the medium term.
Although there is no detailed outlined government strategy to suggest that by doing x then y number of homes will come out of fuel poverty some steps are in place in an attempt to reduce the amount of consumption homes endure.
Grants and Help Available
At present, there are various government heating and insulation grants available to those on low incomes under the Warm Front initiative. Those that qualify get up to £3,500 of free money to add insulation to their lofts or cavity walls. There are other grants available and new green grants have also been announced. The green schemes provide grants for insulation as well as developing renewable energy sources in homes and sell the electricity back to the National Grid.
If you believe you are in fuel poverty or even if you are on some type of benefits, then you should speak to your local council to see what grants and help are available to insulate your home. Insulation is the best use of money to reduce your overall energy consumption and therefore your energy bills.
In addition, to cut costs you should also look at the most competitive tariffs that are available to reduce your pricing and costs. If you are able to pay by direct debit then the tariffs are even cheaper.
New Charter from Consumer Focus
Consumer Focus has also launched a new charter which summarises what we have said above so that there is a real step-by-step strategy for the government to reach their targets to end fuel poverty by 2030.
They suggest that there should be a complete overhaul of their strategy with a coordinated plan for those who need help the most. It is suggested that if homeowners implemented all the energy efficiency measures available, it could reduce an inefficient home’s fuel bills by up to 70% and carbon emissions by 59%.
They add that this would require a significant investment, but if the target is to be achieved, then radical new thinking may be necessary so that UK fuel poverty really is something in the past.