Ending the energy price guarantee from April next year could lead to around 11m UK households falling into fuel poverty, campaigners have warned, which is around 26m people.
It means that more than one in three British households face a dire outlook: there are around 28.1m households in the UK. The average household in Britain has 2.36 people.
The End Fuel Poverty Coalition described the outlook as “frankly terrifying” and urged the government to focus on a new support package and reform the energy market, along with investment in home insulation and re- update.
The predicted increase from seven million households in fuel poverty to 10.7 million after the government raised its guarantee capping the average household energy bill to £2,500 from April will therefore fall slightly – but still from will leave 10.1 million households in fuel poverty in the winter of 2023/24, the group said.
Protest in London
The figures come as protesters gathered in London to ask MPs to support universal basic energy allowance schemes to cover heating, cooking and lighting needs, as part of the ‘Energy for All’ petition which will be handed to Downing Street Wednesday with more than 600,000 signatures. To see also : Artificial photosynthesis can produce sunless food.
This Winter’s Warm campaign called for an immediate halt to all forced transfers of homes to expensive pre-paid meters, either by court order or remotely via smart meters.
Ruth London, from Fuel Poverty Action, said: “The idea is really scary. Now it is very necessary – and possible – to succeed in a new price structure like Energy for All. Finally, now there is support for this in the parliament.”
Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Oil Poverty Coalition, said: “The government may have brought some stability to the markets, but it has come at the cost of great instability in household finances.
“The new governor must work quickly, with consumer groups and charities, to design a new package of support and reform of the energy market that will help those in poverty now and beyond April.
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“But as the political focus on energy bills may now shift to next April, millions of the most vulnerable will be living in cold and wet homes this winter and will need financial and non-financial support.”
Firms urged to prepay customers
Meanwhile, consumer site MoneySavingExpert (MSE) has urged some of the biggest energy companies to allow customers who have already paid for a smart meter to use £400 of their government support payments for both electricity and gas, to make sure they can keep warm in the winter. To see also : American international leadership is still needed after the climate bill.
Paying customers with traditional meters can decide where to best spend the funds, which come in six monthly installments between now and March 2023, as they are sent as vouchers they can use to charge their electricity or gas meter. However for those with a smart meter, the payment is usually applied to their electricity meter by default, so they have little choice.
Gary Caffell, head of energy at MSE, said: “We are grateful that suppliers have stepped up to pay the first installment of this vital support.
“But in addition to the large cost of living crisis – which affects all other sectors of the economy – not allowing consumers to transfer some or all of these payments to the gas meter puts these people, most of whom are vulnerable, at a very high risk. .reaching a critical point in the coming months.
“Some may not be able to heat their homes.”
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