Fuel Poverty - Consumers Told to Shop Around

The UK Government has been criticised by campaigners and Labour for not doing enough at a recent Energy Summit to urge energy providers to bring down their prices.  Instead, consumers have been advised to shop around for the cheapest energy tariffs to reduce their winter fuel bills. 

Energy providers have been told to make information about their tariffs clearer and will be sending letters to consumers informing them of ways that they can save money by changing to a quarterly bill system and for those eligible to receive information about free insulation. 

Campaigners have responded saying that while they welcome the summit's proposed measures much more needs to be done.  Citizen's Advice Scotland Head of Policy Susan McPhee said:

“We remain concerned about the sheer scale of this problem. One in three Scottish households is in fuel poverty, and many more are heading that way. The measures announced today need to be implemented quickly, and they must only be the start. Much more needs to be done to ensure a fair deal for consumers.

“Clearer tariffs, better insulation and more information on how to switch suppliers – all of these measures have a role to play. But we have heard similar pledges before. The real test of today’s summit will be whether these measures are implemented in ways which make a real difference to those who are most in need, so that people are no longer freezing in the dark in their own homes." 

Last week, the regulator, Ofgem, published a plan to reform the way that suppliers charge their customers, forcing them to have no-frills tariffs and adopt a regulated standing charge.  Ofgem hope that with the co-operation of the industry, some of their proposed reforms will be implemented by winter 2012.

In the meantime, the most vulnerable households impacted by fuel poverty will require increased support to switch tariffs and access schemes to improve heating systems and insulation. 

Visit our policy pages for a range of fuel poverty resources including an adviser's toolkit from Energy Action Scotland aimed at supporting frontline advisors whose clients include the vulnerable and/or those in fuel poverty.

Tags: Fuel Poverty, Poverty, Welfare