Plans to help fuel pool being announced

30 May 2008

Government announces measures to tackle fuel poverty

The government is announcing plans to help the fuel poor pay their energy bills.

Plans are underway for new powers to come into play concerning the sharing of data. The new powers would enable energy companies and the government to work together to advise people on the gas and electricity which offer the best value for money.

The energy market regulator, Ofgem, hopes the new measures will help those people who are currently living in fuel poverty.

However, campaigners are saying the plans will not do enough and low income families will continue to suffer.

A household is classed as living in fuel poverty when it spends more than 10% of the entire household income on energy bills.

Currently, there are an estimated 2.5 million households in the UK living in fuel poverty.

Additional measures include an extra £3m to be offered to encourage households to generate their own energy through renewable sources such as wind turbines and solar panels.

Among the campaigners not satisfied with the plans is the National Housing Federation who has called for expensive pre-payment meter charges to be brought down into line with standard rates.