Leaky homes, more than 10% of households living in fuel poverty and people having to choose between staying warm or putting food on the table.
That is the true picture of household energy use in the UK, and it isn’t good enough.
Working from home, or being laid off, has cut overall energy use but means households will face a steep rise in energy bills – pushing many who are already struggling with energy costs over the edge.
The Government must do more now to guarantee that no-one will be left having to choose between heating or eating. And it must get to grips with energy efficiency with a programme to retrofit all of the UK’s 29 million homes, starting with the most vulnerable households. This would cut energy bills, create thousands of skilled jobs and tackle a major source of our greenhouse gas emissions.
It must tackle the unfairness of energy bills too. Pre-payment meter customers are more likely to be on low incomes yet often pay the most for their energy. The Government should provide emergency top up credits to all pre-payment meter customers. Not loans, leaving customers with debts to pay tomorrow, but grants to give them the security they need today.
Credit customers who are struggling financially must also be protected. The Government should conduct debt write offs for those who have no means to repay.
And as we future-proof our homes let’s do the same for our energy, by ending fossil fuel subsidies and investing in cheap and clean renewable energy.
Let’s build a society where everyone has a right to affordable, clean energy.