Fuel Poverty at Highest Level Since 1999

New figures showed that one in six British households is living in fuel poverty.  This is the highest rate of fuel poverty in almost a decade, and may slow the government’s effort to remove the problem by the end of the decade.
The government defines fuel poverty as a situation in which a household is paying more than a tenth of its income towards utility bills.  Energywatch, a leading consumer group, stated yesterday that 4.4 million households are in fuel poverty, including 3 million in England alone.
The Association for the Conservation of Energy is leading a coalition of groups to prepare a legal challenge to force the government to meet the 2010 target.  The government had committed to the target by law.
These figures on fuel poverty come at the end of a period of rising gas and electricity prices from three different UK energy suppliers.  EDF Energy and Npower raised prices by up to 27 per cent, followed by a recent announcement by British Gas that they would increase their prices by 15 per cent.
The newly presented figures on fuel poverty by Ofgem do not take into account the price rises announced this month.  According to government figures, the last time there were as many fuel-poor households was in 1999 when the figure was 4.5 million

www.energywatch.org.uk