How is fuel poverty defined in Northern Ireland?
According to the fuel poverty definition used by the Department for Communities, a household is considered to be in fuel poverty if, in order to maintain a satisfactory level of heating (21 degrees centigrade in the main living area and 18 degrees centigrade in other occupied rooms), it is required to spend in excess of 10% of its household income on all fuel use.
A household is considered to be in severe fuel poverty if it needs to spend more than 15% of income on all fuel use.
How many people in Northern Ireland are in fuel poverty?
The most recent official figure for fuel poverty in NI was measured by the 2016 House Condition Survey and sets the rate at 22%. However, in September 2024 National Energy Action commissioned market research company LucidTalk to undertake a Northern Ireland-wide representative poll to evaluate the impacts of rising energy prices on households. This poll found that 40% of NI households were spending more than 10% of their income on their home energy costs.
Note that in NI, 68% of all households are reliant on home heating oil, a non-regulated fuel.
What is government doing to tackle fuel poverty?
On 12 December 2024, the new draft Fuel Poverty Strategy for NI was published by the Department for Communities NI – the first in more than a decade.
Pat Austin, Director of NEA NI said: ‘We welcome the publication of a new draft Fuel Poverty Strategy. This is the first one since 2011. With 40% of adults in NI telling us that they spent 10% of their total household income on energy costs, this strategy is desperately needed.
You can download the new strategy here.
The consultation on the draft Fuel Poverty Strategy for NI is open to everyone to respond and will close on 6 March 2025.
The Department for Communities is holding information sessions about the consultation. Check out the list of events at the bottom of this page.
Excess winter deaths
Every winter 290 people die in Northern Ireland due to cold homes.