Tag: Energy Bills

Millions of energy customers hit by 7.6% hidden price hike

Customers on popular electricity energy tariffs saw their bills shoot up on 1 January 2023 according to new data released today. [1]

The figures, from Future Energy Associates and reported by the BBC, found average annual rises of £116 for electricity-only Economy 7 tariffs, revealing an 7.6% increase.

The result is that Economy 7 users now pay 46% more than other electricity tariffs (an average of £464 per household, per year, although many electricity-only households use significantly more than an average household). [2]

Standard credit customers also saw their electricity bills increase, while there was variation in changes of unit rates for those on direct debit and prepayment meters.

Compared to those customers on dual fuel tariffs, electricity rates are now 2% more expensive for electricity-only customers.

With 2.1m households only using electricity for their heating, many are struggling to stay warm this winter. [3]

Campaigners are now calling for the Government to extend the “alternative fuel payment” of £200 to all households on electricity only tariffs and commit to roll out reforms to the energy pricing arrangements as soon as possible.

Clement Attwood from Future Energy Associates commented:

It is a little known fact that it is actually up to the supplier to determine rates for some tariffs that are not explicitly capped by the current Energy Price Guarantee rate.

This has caused the average electrical Economy 7 tariff to be more expensive than the average active electrical constant rate tariff. We also saw a higher level of variation between dual fuel and electricity-only tariffs than we expected, which will hit those on the margins of fuel poverty the hardest.

Price variations similarly do occur by region and certain regions consistently have more expensive tariffs.

Tessa Khan, Director of Uplift which is part of the Warm This Winter campaign, commented:

As the growth of cheap UK renewables drives down the cost of generating electricity, energy firms should be lowering the rates they charge. The government needs to urgently get on with reforming energy pricing, as well as ramping up the development of homegrown renewable energy, so that consumers can benefit from cheaper, clean energy now and in winters to come.

One Economy 7 customer, Jonathan Bean from Buckinghamshire saw his Scottish Power bills jump by 13%. He commented:

I’m already paying three times more for my heating and hot water than those with gas or oil.  Now yet more price increases have come in, whilst support payments are being cut.

My son and I will literally freeze this winter, and next.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

Millions of people have been forced into deeper levels of hardship this winter due to this price hike. This will lead to people living in cold damp homes which can cause significant health complications, which only puts more pressure on the NHS.

It is completely unreasonable that those customers on Economy 7 tariffs are paying significantly more for their electricity and also receiving significantly less support with their bills from the Government.

Ruth London from Fuel Poverty Action said:

There is simply no justice in the energy pricing system. These prices for Economy 7 and the costs of all-electric homes are a scandal, along with imposition of prepayment meters, and high standing charges, and the way people on District Heating networks are left out of all protection. Not to mention ill-repaired housing, bad insulation, and damp.

Again and again the people who pay most are those who have least to begin with. We need Energy For All – it is not a luxury, it’s a right.

ENDS

Graphic: Shutterstock

[1]  Future Energy Associates are energy data specialists and software developers, providing retail tariff data and services to the government, private and third sector. Tariffscan, their tariff monitoring platform covers the whole domestic retail market across more than 50 suppliers. Updated daily, Tariffscan is provided through a dashboard and modern API giving users direct access to the latest tariff rates and insight. For more information on Future Energy Associates, visit https://www.futureenergy.associates/

The increases seen are largely due to EDF and Scottish Power raising Economy 7 rates. A standout example would be the EDF tariff where the most expensive economy 7 tariff is £598 more expensive than its equivalent constant rate electrical tariff.

3.3m households were on Economy 7 tariffs in 2021 in England alone (LG Inform / BEIS data: https://lginform.local.gov.uk/reports/lgastandard?mod-metric=3785&mod-period=2&mod-area=E92000001&mod-type=namedComparisonGroup&mod-group=AllSingleTierAndCountyLaInCountry_England ). The BBC report the figure at 2.5m.

[2] Based on ofgem’s consumption figures. Source: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-advice-households/average-gas-and-electricity-use-explained

[3] 2.1m households figure from ONS in its latest report on the census data: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/census2021howhomesareheatedinyourarea/2023-01-05

 

Government announce cut in financial support next winter

The Government has announced a cut in the support available to households in fuel poverty next winter.

While the Energy Price Guarantee will continue to cap the unit cost of energy, all energy bills will increase from 1 April 2023 – at the same time as the Energy Bills Support Scheme finishes.

The final increase will depend on energy prices, which have fallen in recent months, but currently predictions range from a 12% to 20% increase.

In 2022/23, the most vulnerable households were given support of up to £1,500. According to media reports, for 2023/24 the figure reduces to £1,350. A 10% cut in support.

These changes come on top of additional increases in energy costs which many Economy 7 customers saw on their bills from 1 January 2023. Support in 2023/24 for households not on means-tested benefits and those living in “off gas grid” properties have also yet to be confirmed by the Government.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

This winter we have seen over 9m adults living in Dickensian conditions in cold damp homes.

Yet despite energy bills increasing by 20% from April 2023, the support for the most vulnerable announced by the Government has not increased from last year.

In short, bills are going up, support is going down and households will be worse off than they were this winter.

While we support the principle of prioritising support for those who need it the most, the Government must go further to help the millions of homes in fuel poverty throughout 2023.

This does mean more financial support, but also non-financial measures such as banning the forced transfer of households onto more expensive pre-payment meters.

Based on media reports, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition estimate that the support on offer in 2023/24 will be as below:

Financial Year 2022/23 Financial Year 2023/24
£2,500 average household bill through Energy Price Guarantee* £3,000 average household bill through Energy Price Guarantee*
£400 Energy Bill Support Scheme to all households. No plans to extend scheme.
£650 cost-of-living payment for means-tested benefit claimants, split into two payments (in summer and autumn 2022). £900 payment to 8m households on means tested benefits (in four instalments through to Spring 2024)
£150 payments for people with disabilities. £150 payment for more than six million people with disabilities.
Up to £300 payment for pensioners. £300 for over eight million pensioners on top of their Winter Fuel Payments.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payment Source: Press Association as reported by ITV and others.
* Please note the Energy Price Guarantee caps the unit cost paid, not the total bill. This may change due to changing energy prices. Many more vulnerable households pay significantly more than the average stated. The average household bill in winter 2021/22 was £1,277, meaning the average household will be paying £1,523 to £1,723 more by winter 2023/24.

Pre-payment meters pressure mounts on government and suppliers

The pressure on the Government and energy firms to ban the forced transfer of households to pre-payment meters (PPMs) is growing.

The scandal, revealed in the i paper, that energy firms have secured almost 500,000 court warrants to install these PPMs in homes of customers in debt, has led to debates and questions in the Houses of Parliament.

The House of Commons agreed to a motion put forward by Anne McLaughlin MP that:

That this House… is deeply concerned that so called self-disconnection of prepayment meter customers will see the most vulnerable in our society left without heat, light and facilities to cook and wash over the coming winter; and strongly urges the Government to outlaw self-disconnection to ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable customers are not left without basic energy provision.

Further questions from MPs across the political spectrum have challenged the legal process followed by energy firms and magistrates – with media reports likening the situation to the “Wild West.”

In response, OVO Energy has introduced a temporary ban on forcing people onto prepayment meters over Christmas – but insists the practice will resume in the new year.

The firm’s promise came in response to a demand from campaign group 38 Degrees, who recently wrote to all the UK’s major energy suppliers urging them to stop forcibly installing prepayment meters and remotely switching smart meters to prepayment mode without customer consent.

OVO also highlighted its suspension of debt recovery until at least March 2023 – meaning all customer top-ups will be used to pay for usage and standing charges only, not to pay off existing debts. But this will only be a temporary reprieve if debt collection restarts in the spring – when energy prices are once again set to rise.

Tens of thousands of people have now added their names to a 38 Degrees petition addressed to the CEOs of Britain’s major energy companies, demanding a total end to any switching without active, informed consumer consent.

People can add their name here: https://act.38degrees.org.uk/act/stop-forced-prepayment

Matthew McGregor, CEO at 38 Degrees, said:

By pledging not to push anyone into prepayment over the Christmas period, OVO is demonstrating they know just how damaging it is.

While it may be good news that struggling families won’t wake up to a prepayment meter on December 25th, they could still be facing disconnection by the backdoor come January.

If it’s not acceptable at Christmas time, why should this harmful practice be considered business as usual for the rest of the year?

Every single time these multi-billion pound companies push a prepayment meter onto someone who is struggling, they’re risking another customer facing the stark choice between feeding the meter and feeding their family.

But they have the chance to do the right thing: put people before profit by committing to end all forced transfer to prepayment.

The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, said in response to a question in the House of Commons from Gerald Jones MP on Tuesday about to need for extra support for customers on the meters:

We will continue to monitor the situation over the months ahead because we are aware of the extreme vulnerabilities of this group.

But a spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said the Government needed to go further:

Even the energy firms are now waking up to the reality that pre-payment meter customers are struggling in cold damp homes this winter.

Research for the Warm This Winter campaign has shown that PPM customers are likely to be vulnerable or have health conditions made worse by being unable to stay warm.

Many will have been forced onto a pre-payment meter against their will.

With MPs and charities increasingly concerned for the wellbeing of people in cold damp homes, we cannot leave their safety to chance.

The Government must act urgently to ban any further forced installations of pre-payment meters either by court warrant or by smart meter.

Energy self-disconnection epidemic hitting most vulnerable

Millions of elderly, disabled, young families and those with a serious health condition are spending the winter in cold damp homes, according to new research. [1]

The figures released to mark the Warm This Winter Day of Action, reveal 15% of vulnerable people have now “self-disconnected” by massively reducing their energy supply. A further 51% are now rationing – and somewhat reducing – their energy consumption.

As a result, almost a quarter (22%) of vulnerable people are now living in cold damp homes – with many of these (37%) experiencing such conditions for the first time this winter.

By comparison, 12% of the general population have self-disconnected and a further 50% are now rationing use, while 19% of the general public are now living in cold damp homes.

Anne Vivian-Smith from Nottingham will be sharing her story at the Warm This Winter rally against fuel poverty in London on 3 December 2022. Anne commented:

I spend my day sitting in the cold with four thermal layers, two blankets, and a hot water bottle. But if you’re immobile and don’t generate your own heat you can’t retain your own heat.

We just found out the cost of heating a room for one hour is £2. So if I put the heating on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening that’s nearly £30 a week, £122 a month. Just for heating.

It’s impossible to afford that. Ceiling hoists, powered wheelchair, electric profiling bed and a motor assistive front door all add to cost.

Worse still is my electric Closomat loo – it’s costing me 30 pence to spend a penny!

Non-disabled people don’t face this level of humiliation, but this is the reality for many of us who use medical equipment or need extra help to get around.

I’ve become one of those people spending time on the bus.

I hadn’t appreciated the level of distress the cold is causing me until I recently had the opportunity to be in the warm for a bit. The project then closed so the chance was taken from me. I’m really struggling to lose all the negative feelings it’s caused.

The research goes on to show that Anne is not alone.

Over a third (38%) of vulnerable people have seen their mental health decline as a direct result of their bills.

Just as worryingly, 44% of people with a health condition or disability have seen their condition deteriorate over the last three months.

To mark the Warm This Winter Day of Action, events at over 40 locations around the UK will take place. These range from public rallies and occupation of public spaces to “warm up” to creating fuel poverty Christmas cards to send to MPs.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

If people self-disconnect or drastically reduce their energy use, they are at risk from the severe health complications of living in a cold damp home.

People on low incomes have always saved energy, they don’t need the government to tell them how to do so.

But now rising costs are forcing them to go much further, risking their own health by cutting energy use to the point that they are living in a cold damp home.

Children and those who are elderly, disabled or have pre-existing medical conditions are especially vulnerable this winter.

Jelly Moring, Organiser at Parents for Future UK which is one of the organisations staging arts and craft-based events on the day of acton, added:

It is appalling and unjustifiable that millions of vulnerable households are struggling to pay their energy bills and keep their homes warm this winter while energy companies make record profits.

Real action from the government is needed.

Along with providing increased support to those who are suffering the most, it is critical that the government also properly fund home upgrades and replace expensive and volatile fossil fuels with clean, cheap, homegrown renewables.

Only then can we lower bills for households in the long term and keep our families warm in the winter.

Dan Paskins, Director of UK Impact at Save the Children, said:

This report is shocking but sadly not surprising. We know parents on the lowest incomes are deeply worried about how they are going to keep their children warm over the Christmas holidays, and will be making sacrifices.

They might be cooking hot food only for their children and having cold food themselves, or nothing at all.

They’re likely to be turning off the heating in their bedrooms to make sure there’s enough money left to keep their children warm.

With the cost-of-living payments from the UK government not coming in until April, millions of families face a miserable winter where they may struggle to heat their homes.

The UK government needs to step in now and provide cost of living support this winter, and not wait to bring in further measures in the Spring.

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift and one of the organisers of the Warm This Winter Day of Action, commented:

This government is clearly failing to fix the energy price crisis when so many households in the UK are rationing their energy use. What’s worse is that Ministers know how to solve it, starting with urgently insulating homes on a scale and with levels of funding that we’ve yet to see.

If the government can subsidise oil and gas companies to the tune of many billions to develop new North Sea fields, which by the way will do nothing to help people, it can and must plough equivalent amounts into insulating homes, which is guaranteed to reduce people’s bills and make sure the elderly, disabled, parents with small children can stay warm this winter.

Ruth London of Fuel Poverty Action said:

There is growing anger at the absolute poverty so many people are facing now – it feels like going back to Victorian times. And why?

There is plenty of money.

Energy corporations are making eye-watering profits from the money we are paying them. Patriotic Millionaires are crying out to be taxed. And meanwhile people are dying in cold, uninsulated homes.

Fuel Poverty Action is fighting for Energy For All – enough energy free for each home to cover the basics like heating and lighting, paid for by windfall taxes, ending the millions spent daily on fossil fuel subsidies, and higher tariffs for luxury or wasteful energy use.

ENDS

Image from Shutterstock posed by actor.

[1] 2,198 people interviewed between 29-30 November 2022. Results were weighted to be representative of the UK population.

The UK Population aged 18 or over stands at 52,890,044 (ONS). Of these 60.04% (31,755,182) are classed as being vulnerable (i.e. having a disability, long term lung, heart or mental health condition, being aged over 65 or having a child aged 0-6 in the home). Of these 22.02% (6,992,491) are living in a cold damp home.

Of these 37.18% (2,599,808) are experiencing living in a cold damp home for the first time this year (this represents 8.2% of all vulnerable people).

Among the general population 3,914,224 are living in cold damp homes for the first time (7.4% of total UK population).

Fuel poverty set to hit 11m households as protesters gather in Westminster

New estimates by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition reveal that the axing of the Energy Price Guarantee could lead to almost 11m UK households in fuel poverty from April 2023.

Based on the latest estimates on energy prices from Cornwall Insight, figures will rise from 7m households now to 10.7m (a rise from 24.5% to 37.6% of households) from April 2023.

While numbers will then fall slightly, it will still leave 10.1m households in fuel poverty in winter 2023/24.

The figures come as protestors gather in London to ask MPs to back plans for a universal basic energy allowance.

This energy allowance, which would meet basic needs for heating, cooking and lighting, is the core component of the Energy For All petition which will be handed into Downing Street today with more than 600,000 signatures.

MPs can also now back an Early Day Motion supporting the Energy For All plans. Ruth London of Fuel Poverty Action said:

Even the Energy Price Guarantee, which was billed as the government’s two-year solution to the price crisis, will not last two years but will end in April.The outlook is frankly terrifying.

It is now all the more essential – and more possible – to win a totally new pricing framework like Energy For All.  Finally there is now support for this inside Parliament.”

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

The government may have brought some stability to the markets, but it has come at the cost of huge instability in households’ finances.

The new Chancellor must work quickly, and with consumer groups and charities, to design a new package of support and energy market reforms that will help those in fuel poverty now and post April.

But while the political focus on energy bills may now have shifted to next April, millions of the most vulnerable will be living in cold and damp homes this winter and will need further financial and non-financial support.

The Warm This Winter campaign has called for GBP14bn of additional financial support as well as non-financial help for households this winter.

Chief among the non-financial asks is an immediate suspension of all forced transfers of households onto more expensive pre-payment meters (PPMs), whether by court warrant or remotely via smart meters.

These demands come alongside calls for more investment in energy efficiency and a move towards a renewable energy future, and away from oil and gas.

Cara Jenkinson, Cities Manager at Ashden, which is part of the Warm This Winter campaign, added:

Poor quality homes that leak energy are currently causing the NHS £1.4bn a year as well as misery for people in damp, cold homes.

To solve fuel poverty for good, we need a rapid scale-up of home retrofit focused on the areas that need it most, with an investment in the construction skills needed so that work isn’t stalled by a lack of workers.

Tessa Khan, director of Uplift, said:

On top of everything else, this government’s plan to fix the UK’s energy system is also in disarray.

We need a government prepared to tackle the crisis at its root, which means moving the UK off volatile fossil fuels with a national insulation programme to cut waste, and a massive acceleration in renewable energy, which is now nine times cheaper than gas.

This is the only way to permanently lower energy bills.

The government needs to stop adding to our problems and fix the ones on their desk. This must begin today with providing more targeted help for those who are going to be hit hardest.

Ross Matthewman, Head of Policy and Public Affairs of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health said:

The decision to end the price cap freeze after six months rather than the proposed two years will have a devastating effect on households struggling with their energy bills. While insufficient, the two-year energy price cap freeze provided some reprieve to households, who now face grave uncertainty on what support on household energy bills exist beyond April.

We urgently call on the UK government to get a grip, reinstate the two-year energy price cap freeze as well as intervene more broadly to support households struggling with their energy bills.

While we welcomed the government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme, it is apparent that £400 spread over six months is simply not going to be enough to tackle the spiralling cost of energy crisis, with more significant intervention needed.

Not only are we are calling on the government to double the amount of financial support provided to households to protect households this winter, but we are also urging them to introduce a raft of energy efficiency measures. Such measures can act both as a means of supporting households most in need right now as well as shielding households from spiralling energy bills in the long-term.

Electricity markets must be fairly priced for consumers

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has responded to the Government’s Review of Electricity Market Arrangements with a call that reform must harness the benefits of net zero, reduce risks of price volatility and deliver a secure supply to consumers.

The Consultation closed on 10 October and among the issues up for discussion was how the cost of electricity is determined.

Currently, the energy market is underpinned by “marginal pricing” – meaning that the price per unit (kWh) of electricity is determined by the last energy source delivered onto the grid to meet demand in any given half hour period.

In practice, this is often the cost of gas power station produced electricity, not renewable energy. Yet, renewables make up the biggest proportion of the energy mix (38.7%, BEIS) and are nine times cheaper than gas-fired power stations.

Therefore the Coalition’s response urged the Government to unlink the cost of energy from gas:

As the UK transitions away from fossil fuels, the cost of natural gas, coal and oil should no longer be the dominant factor in determining the price consumers pay for their electricity.

It is crucial that consumers reap the benefits of cheaper renewable electricity sources and no longer have their unit rates determined by volatile fossil fuel prices.

Therefore, we support reforms to the marginal pricing system as long as the Government devises a mechanism for ensuring this provides a reduction in consumer costs and maintains consistency of supply.

In its response, the Coalition welcomed plans to reform the energy market and the Government’s commitment to reliability and affordability.

However, the Coalition adds that the Government “must ensure the needs of vulnerable consumers – and those already in fuel poverty – are better accounted for in these plans.”

Given concerns about possible energy blackouts this winter, the consultation response calls for decarbonisation of the energy grid, security of supply and lower costs for consumers to ensure households are protected from wholesale price volatility. The Coalition added that:

Demand must always be matched by supply, particularly for the most vulnerable consumers such as isolated rural communities and those relying on life saving medical equipment.

The response calls for the Government to successfully utilise the UK’s extensive renewable energy resources and deliver them to consumers through the electricity grid so to help mitigate price volatility and ensure we have a more secure energy future.

Part of this is ensuring that the country harnesses the power of renewables like wind and solar. But the consultation response also calls for measures to avoid continued reliance on fossil fuel backups to meet peak demand by improving the UK’s energy storage capacity.

Blackouts an intolerable situation say campaigners

Commenting on reports that the UK may be subject to rolling black outs or enforced energy cuts, a spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

We need to ensure we have enough supply to help the most vulnerable.

People such as the disabled and elderly or those using respirators, can’t just turn off their energy use. They are already in fuel poverty and keeping usage to a minimum, so it will be life threatening in some situations.

While there may be some scope for some households to reduce usage and save energy, we should not be encouraging self-disconnection or forcing people to live in cold damp homes.

The Government needs to realise that its obsession with fossil fuels has led us to this point and increasing our reliance on them is not the way to end the energy crisis.

This intolerable situation shows that the faster we move to renewables and an improved energy market, the better.

We need a plan to improve energy efficiency, develop more sustainable ways of keeping people warm every winter and for a long term shift away from gas and onto more renewable energy.

 

Homes to see energy prices surge overnight

As the fall-out continues from the Chancellor’s mini-Budget, new analysis of the impact of the Energy Price Guarantee has revealed a stark winter facing millions of people.

The Government’s plan only caps the cost per unit that households pay, with actual bills still determined by how much energy is consumed.

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition calculates that the combined electricity and gas unit cost of energy will surge for households by between 23% and 27% overnight on Friday. [1]

The level of surge depends on the type of payment method and where people live in the country.

When standing charges are also included in the analysis, those on standard credit will pay 12% more and those on pre-payment meters 11% more than those on direct debit.

While the Energy Bills Support Scheme will lower peoples bills by GBP400 in the short-term, this saving expires in April 2023 creating a fresh hike in people’s bills. For households on benefits, the additional support they have had since May 2022 will also expire early in 2023 making the impact even more severe. [2]

Campaigners have urged the public to take meter readings tonight and submit them to their energy suppliers to ensure they do not incur additional costs caused by the increased unit prices from 1 October 2022.

In addition, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition has urged the Government to go further in support for energy efficiency measures.

In last week’s mini-Budget, over GBP1bn additional funding was pledged to improve insulation of peoples’ homes over the next three years. New estimates show that this falls far short of the additional GBP5bn energy efficiency investment needed.

Meanwhile, the number of UK households in fuel poverty will increase from 7 million from 1 October to nearer 8m from 1 April 2023 as the Energy Bills Support Scheme runs out.

Frazer Scott, CEO of Energy Action Scotland, commented:

This week, every household across the UK must make sure it submits a meter reading to their energy firm to avoid paying a penny more than they absolutely have to when prices go up on 1 October.

Fuel poverty is at record levels, levels of energy efficiency improvements are simply too low to provide respite and financial support is just a sticking plaster on the deepest of wounds.

As unit costs for electricity and gas push bills higher still in October, communities will suffer and take years to recover. Meanwhile the impact of fuel poverty will be felt on the NHS and social care system and lives will be needlessly lost.

Asthma + Lung UK has recently seen calls to the charity’s helpline from people needing advice for help with their finances or benefits soar by 89% [3]. Dr Andrew Whittamore, Clinical Lead at Asthma + Lung UK and a practising GP, said:

Winter is the deadliest season for people with lung conditions. Cold homes are very dangerous for people with lung conditions because they provide the perfect environment for respiratory infections to thrive.

This situation is untenable and Asthma + Lung UK is urging the government to provide targeted financial support to help people with lung conditions with the rising cost of bills and living.

Tessa Khan, director of Uplift which is part of the Warm This Winter campaign, said:

The government’s massive energy bill bailout is costing us a fortune but doesn’t fix the problem at its root: millions of people will still be forced into impossible choices by soaring gas prices and still we have no credible plan from the government to wean the UK off volatile fossil fuels.

With homegrown renewables now nine times cheaper than UK gas, it is 100% in the national interest to accelerate all forms of cheap, renewable energy so that we don’t find ourselves facing the same energy bill crisis in years to come.

Rhi Hughes, Community Engagement Manager, South West London Law Centres said:

All of us will have a lack of control this winter. It won’t be a case of ‘well, I just won’t put the heating on’ or ‘I will use minimum electricity today’ to get us out of this. Although cutting down fuel use will help, our standing charges are going to sharply increase. If we can’t top up our pre-payment meters we will be getting into debt with our service charges and that debt will keep growing.

Such a range of households are going to be hit so hard by the increase. Homeowners in homes that need repairs have leaks, windows that don’t shut, doors that don’t close and they are just going to freeze as they don’t have the money to fix the problem or to put the heating on.

Some tenants are forced to live in such bad condition housing that there is nothing they can do to keep heat in as there are large cracks in walls or ceilings. It is the responsibility of the landlords to fix these issues but they don’t – especially housing association and council tenants. These large authorities are exasperating the crisis for the people they are paid rent by.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, added:

The Government has created a double dose of pain for households. Many will be hit with the rising energy bills immediately, with another dose of pain inflicted when the financial support runs out by April 2023.

We need action now to reassure people that support will continue next year and urgent action to improve the energy efficiency of our homes into the future.

Notes

[1]

Price cap unit rates chart
All financial numbers are quoted in p
DIRECT DEBIT
Cost from 1 Oct 22 Cost until 30 Sep 22 INCREASE FROM SUMMER 22
GAS UNIT (kwh) 10.3 7.37 39.76%
GAS SC 28.49 27.22 4.67%
ELEC UNIT 34 28.34 19.97%
ELEC SC 46.36 45.34 2.25%
1 day of both fuels & 1 kwh used of both fuels 119.15 108.27 10.05%
1 unit of each 44.3 35.71 24.05%
PRE PAYMENT METERS
From 1 Oct Until 1 Oct INCREASE
GAS UNIT (kwh) 10.63 7.36 44.43%
GAS SC 37.51 37.28 0.62%
ELEC UNIT (kwh) 33.08 28.11 17.68%
ELEC SC 51.41 50.27 2.27%
1 day of both fuels & 1 kwh used of both fuels 132.63 123.02 7.81%
1 unit of each 43.71 35.47 23.23%
Uplift from DD 13.48 14.75
% Uplift from DD 11.31% 13.62%
STANDARD CREDIT
From 1 Oct Until 1 Oct INCREASE
GAS UNIT (kwh) 11.12 7.76 43.30%
GAS SC 33.54 32 4.81%
ELEC UNIT (kwh) 36.8 29.85 23.28%
ELEC SC 52.4 51.16 2.42%
1 day of both fuels & 1 kwh used of both fuels 133.86 120.77 10.84%
1 unit of each 47.92 37.61 27.41%
Uplift from DD 14.71 12.5
% Uplift from DD 12.35% 11.55%
Original data unit cost source: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/what-are-the-price-cap-unit-rates-/

Combinations, increases and uplifts calculated by End Fuel Poverty Coalition

[2] ​​

Average household bills under Ofgem Price Cap (*) and Energy Price Guarantee (**). All financial numbers quoted are in GBP. “Average household (hh)” Average hh increase Those hh getting max Govt support, average hh rate Those hh getting max Govt support, % increase
Oct-21* 1277 1277
Apr-22* 1971 54.35% 1571 23.02%
Oct-22** 2100 6.54% 1700 8.21%
Apr-23** 2500 19.05% 2500 47.06%
Increase Winter 2021/22 to Summer 2023 96% 96%
Increase Winter 2021/22 to Winter 2022/23 64% 33%

[3] Asthma + Lung UK internal figures. Comparison August 2021 to August 2022. Website traffic on these topics also surged year-on-year by 63%.

Coalition reacts to Energy Price Guarantee announcement

Despite the UK Government’s Energy Price Guarantee, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition estimates that 7m households across the UK will be in fuel poverty this winter.

A spokesperson from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

While many households will benefit from the price cap freeze, the Prime Minister offered no detail of any additional support for the millions of households who will be left behind in fuel poverty this winter.

Many of these people are struggling already and include those who are elderly, disabled or with pre-existing health conditions. Without more support to keep them warm this winter, the pressures on the NHS and social care system will increase.

And without further investment in measures such as energy efficiency for those homes worst affected by fuel poverty and renewables, the plans will just be an expensive sticking plaster.

Adam Scorer, chief executive of fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA) said:

The UK government’s plan to freeze energy bills means the average household will pay around £2,500 a year, instead of the predicted £3,549 average a year. This will bring huge relief. It means more than 24 million households will face lower bills this winter. And it could help stop over 2 million households from being plunged into fuel poverty.

However, despite the good news, many households in serious fuel poverty need more than reassurance about future prices, they need rescuing from current prices.

Just over 12 months ago the average annual bill was just £1,271. Even with this price freeze the average bill has doubled in a year. Last year 4.5 million UK households were fuel poor, now we predict that it will be 6.7 million – far better than the 8.9 million without support, but still more needs to be done. In particular, measures need to work for households in Northern Ireland who are outside the GB energy market and its price cap.

The new Government must not forget that the most vulnerable need targeted support. Those who use more energy in their homes because of medical conditions, those who are elderly and those on very low incomes need extra help so they don’t have to ration their usage, putting their physical and mental health at risk. Those on prepayment meters must not be forgotten either. They would benefit from a lower rate or additional relief from huge standing charges.

We hope too, that longer term the Prime Minister will focus on greater investment in energy efficiency. It not only saves consumers money and makes homes warm and safe places to live, it creates jobs, provides an economic return to the Treasury and reduces strain and costs for our stretched health services.

Jess Ralston from ECIU commented:

The PM’s plan delivers on emergency bill help this winter, but lacks any kind of plan for dealing with the root cause that expensive gas and poor quality homes are costing bill and tax payers billions.

Every pound spent by Treasury on insulation this winter could pay back by the next election by cutting the £150bn energy price freeze bill landing on the exchequer. It’s simple, using less gas improves our security and lowers our bills.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation told the BBC that there will still be an  £800 gap between the overall rise in the cost of living and the support package that the poorest families were receiving. JRF chief analyst Peter Matejic said:

The government’s energy price freeze headed off a stratospheric predicted price increase from October, but struggling households remain extremely worried about how they are supposed to fill this gap.

This shows Liz Truss’s job isn’t done. When she unveils further plans as part of her fiscal statement she must remember the many low income families suffering in hardship.

Warm This Winter campaign members, The Wildlife Trusts tweeted their opposition to the Government’s plans to include fracking as part of the plans:

More reaction from members of the Coalition to follow.

Almost total fuel poverty in some areas, despite price freeze plan

Some areas of the country risk seeing almost every home in fuel poverty without a comprehensive plan from the new Prime Minister. [1]

Even taking into account rumoured plans for a freeze on energy bills, over twenty neighbourhoods in Birmingham, Bradford, Coventry, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Stoke and Wolverhampton could see fuel poverty rates of over 75 per cent of households from 1 October 2022. Some will reach close to every household in the area. [2]

Hundreds of other areas across swathes of the country – from Southampton to Middlesborough and from Essex to Lancaster – will also see significant levels of fuel poverty this winter. [3]

As the new Cabinet finalises plans for the support package for households this winter, the figures highlight how parts of the country will experience fuel poverty differently.

A briefing to MPs and Peers from the Warm this Winter campaign calls on Parliamentarians to push for a coherent plan to tackle the energy bills crisis through a national rollout of home insulation and affordable renewables to wean the country off gas. [4]

The campaign is also demanding that the new government provides more direct emergency financial support for everyone this winter, but particularly low-income households.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, which is part of the Warm This Winter campaign, said:

We need to see the right support get through to the right people.

The Government’s plans focus on offering welcome universal support through a price freeze, but we also need additional help for the millions of households in fuel poverty who are already struggling.

These new figures show this can vary significantly by region and by property type.Any investment this winter also needs to include long-term solutions such as a support for energy efficiency and a boost for renewables to help move the country away from fossil fuels.

Jacky Peacock, Head of Policy at Advice for Renters said:

Renters are particularly hard hit as inflation and scarcity of private rented homes are pushing up rents at an unprecedented rate, leaving little or nothing to spend on energy bills. Without the right action from the Government, we risk seeing a huge explosion in homelessness.

Rachael Williamson, Head of Policy and External Affairs at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said:

Social landlords across the country are taking a range of actions to support vulnerable residents under financial strain where they can, but there is a limit to what the housing sector can do.

The pressures are so great that many households now have negative budgets, even after all avenues of support have been exhausted. Many social housing providers are themselves challenged by above inflation cost increases.

Urgent support is needed, targeted to help people on the lowest incomes and substantial enough to meet the scale of the challenge.

Graham Duxbury, Chief Executive of community environmental charity Groundwork, said:

Rising levels of fuel poverty are creating a public health emergency. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the stark health inequalities in our communities and without urgent action from the government these will become even more extreme.

Every day, our energy advisers visit people who are unable to heat their homes, leading to problems with damp and mould. The physical impact on health can be devastating and fuel poverty also damages people’s mental health.

On local authority level, the areas that will be worst affected are, Barnsley, Birmingham, Coventry, Hull, Leicester, Manchester, Nottingham, Norwich, Sandwell, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton. The whole of West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire as well as Liverpool, Newcastle-under-Lyme, North East Lincolnshire, Scarborough, and the London boroughs of Newham and Barking & Dagenham will also be hit hard with a GBP2,500 price cap.

Cara Jenkinson, Cities Manager at climate solutions charity Ashden, which is part of the Warm This Winter campaign, added:

The Government must fund local insulation programmes in the areas where fuel poverty is highest, and councils should not have to compete against each other for this funding. We need a rapid scale up of energy efficient retrofit which will insulate people against further price rises, cut carbon and create jobs across the country.

The Warm This Winter petition supporting the campaign’s demands has been signed by 120,000 people since it was launched last weekend while Fuel Poverty Action’s petition for Energy For All, a free allocation of energy to meet each household’s needs, has been signed by 557,000 people and will be delivered to the new Prime Minister on 19 September.

Ruth London from Fuel Poverty Action said:

People of all ages are being robbed of even the essentials of life while massive energy corporations chalk up undreamed of profits.

Over half a million have signed our petition for Energy For All: The energy to ensure we can heat and light our homes must be free and guaranteed, and the money must come from the industry that is causing this crisis to begin with.

People who can well afford to pay extra should no longer pay a lower price than those who are frightened to turn on a light in damp, poorly insulated bedsits.

Alethea Warrington, campaigns manager at climate charity Possible, said:

Our failure to get off gas for good is fuelling the energy costs and climate crises. Drilling for more gas would totally fail to alleviate the unaffordable energy costs that are pushing people into poverty, as any gas would take decades to come online and would then be sold in global markets.

But we do have a solution – clean, cheap, domestic renewable energy like onshore wind and solar, which can come online quickly and is around a tenth of the cost of gas power.

Renewables are popular across the UK, and it’s past time for the government to get on with delivering them.

The Warm This Winter campaign launched on 26 August in response to the growing energy bills crisis. The campaign demands that the government provides more emergency money for people this winter, funding to help everyone cut their bills with better insulation, and rapidly moves the country away from expensive gas and onto cheaper, renewable energy.

New modelling by Tax Justice UK, found that a 95% excess profits tax on North Sea oil and gas companies could raise up to £44 billion a year for two years and would almost cover the cost of living package the government is set to announce.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

[1] Estimates for the previous price cap announcements show that from 1 October, 21 million people in around 9 million homes (32%) will be in fuel poverty this winter based on levels of support pledged up to 05.09.22 and are reflective of the definitions of fuel poverty used in official statistics. The figures were set to grow to around 28 million people in 12 million UK households (42%) from January 2023 unless urgent action is taken by the Government.

Based on multiple media reports of a “price freeze” of energy bills at a level of GBP2,500 from 1 October 2022 (and with the GBP400 promised support, this falls to GBP2,100), the End Fuel Poverty Coalition estimates that 16.4 million people in 6.9 million UK households will still be left in fuel poverty in winter 2022/23 without government support. c.5.3 million of these households will be in England.

Regional data for England based on LSOA level calculations or local authority / metropolitan authority level. Methodology, assumptions and definitions available at https://www.endfuelpoverty.org.uk/price-cap-methodology/ (page being updated with latest figures, but assumptions and methodology remain).

Millions more are also set to suffer based on more general measures of fuel poverty and fuel stress used by some academics and campaigners.

[2] Selection of the neighbourhoods of the country in almost total fuel poverty from 1 October 2022. Based on 23 out of 32,844 LSOA areas.

Birmingham: https://mapit.mysociety.org/area/154406.html

Stoke on Trent: https://mapit.mysociety.org/area/114803.html

Leeds: https://mapit.mysociety.org/area/77587.html

Sheffield: https://mapit.mysociety.org/area/74208.html

Hull: https://mapit.mysociety.org/area/79055.html

Coventry: https://mapit.mysociety.org/area/75782.html

Wolverhampton: https://mapit.mysociety.org/area/76624.html

[3] Over 400 (411) neighbourhoods will see fuel poverty at levels exceeding 55% of households.

[4] Briefing note to Members of Parliament – link here. Briefing note on the Energy Bill for Members of the House of Lords – link here.

Warm this Winter is a new campaign demanding the government acts now to help tackle rising energy bills this winter and to ensure energy is affordable for everyone in the future.

It is supported by leading anti-poverty and environmental organisations, including Save the Children, WWF and the End Fuel Poverty Coalition. Its demands of government are:

  1. Emergency support now: Provide a new package of financial support to people who, without additional urgent action, will be on the front-line of poverty this winter.
  2. Help to upgrade homes: Launch a properly-funded programme of home upgrades and insulation across the UK to bring down bills and prevent energy waste.
  3. Cheap energy: More than triple the amount of renewable energy in the UK by 2030, including wind and solar generated in harmony with nature, so that we can permanently lower bills.
  4. Free us from oil and gas: Stop opening up new oil and gas fields so that we can escape our dependence on volatile fossil fuels.