SEPTEMBER 2024 | VOLUME 62 | ISSUE 7


Fuel poverty committee calls for energy effi ciency upgrade


The latest report from the Committee on Fuel Poverty has said that investment in energy effi ciency measures should be put at the heart of any eff ort to tackle the cost and environmental impact of heating.


The Committee on Fuel Poverty’s 2024 Annual Report concludes that current policies to reduce fuel poverty have proved ineff ective and argues that effectively targeted energy efficiency programmes are central to reducing fuel poverty. The report calls for a return to a ‘fabric fi rst’ approach to improving household energy effi ciency before resources are directed at the installation of low-carbon heating systems. It also suggests that new


heating controls may represent relatively


cheaper ways of


reducing energy consumption, but compared to external wall and loft insulation, are ineff ective at delivering substantially warmer homes. In the last two years, the


proportion of all energy effi ciency work under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme has shifted away from insulation improvements and towards heating control upgrades. In 2023, only a quarter of the measures were for loft or wall insulation. Between 2022-2024, only 30%


reduced their energy costs to the same extent as if their home were a C rated property. ‘We observe that some 3.720


million low-income households live in properties rated A, B and C’, says the report. ‘We know that many households living in a C rated property struggle to aff ord their energy bills and/or are in arrears; this potentially creates a false impression that fuel distress cannot occur among these households, which by many other defi nitions would be deemed to be fuel poor’.


of the ECO4 measures were for insulation, while 70% related to heating systems and controls.


Flatlining The report states that fuel poverty in England is flatlining rather than falling. In 2023, there were an estimated 13% of households (3.17 million) in fuel poverty in England under the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency metric, eff ectively unchanged from 13.1% in 2022 (3.18 million). Committee chair, Rt Hon Caroline


Flint, says:


“Governments from 2010 onwards saw levels of fuel poverty in England falling steadily for almost a decade – a reduction of 40%, only to be followed by fi ve years from 2019 to 2024 where fuel poverty did not fall to any meaningful extent. Perhaps the stable energy prices for most of the 2010s created an optimism that fuel poverty would continue to fall for years to come. That


optimism was misplaced.” The report urges a future fuel


poverty strategy to include ‘a guarantee of aff ordable energy for all’ and consideration should be given to low-income households who may not be in receipt of state benefi ts. This includes reviewing the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric, the current metric used to measure fuel poverty in England, which is based on a combination of household


income, LILEE measure energy


requirements and energy prices. Fuel poverty


under the identifies


those households who live in properties rated D, E, F or G and their disposable income (income after housing costs and energy costs). The LILEE measure makes adjustments for those in receipt of Warm Home Discount. A person in receipt of WHD living in a D rated property may not be regarded as fuel poor as the benefi t of the WHD payment is deemed to have


Further research The Committee also advocates further research into the impact on low-income households, as well as the prevalence of fuel poverty amongst ethnic minority households. It believes that better targeting and, in particular, data sharing, is key to being able to tackle fuel poverty in future. The report argues that the Fuel


Poverty Strategy requires a reset, a refresh and a new focus, to continue to bear down on a problem which too many low-income households endure year on year. But the Committee remains optimistic that fuel poverty can be defeated and hopes that a renewed drive to improve the fabric of the coldest homes will make a diff erence. “Energy prices remain about


£700 above pre-pandemic levels – and are rising this winter – this poses a serious challenge,” says Caroline Flint. “But the cheapest energy of all is the energy never used because a house retains its heat and stays warm in winter.”


Inside this issue phamnews.co.uk


Energy Matters See page 14


Gadgets & Tools See page 19


COMPETITION


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