Contact Anna Cook, Head of Communications and Campaigns on anna.cook@nea.org.uk and 07884 371913
6.5 million UK households will be in fuel poverty from January as new polling shows 2 million have gone without energy in the last three months
- Ahead of Fuel Poverty Awareness Day (Thursday 30 November) fuel poverty charity National Energy Action reveals the number in fuel poverty will be 6.5 million UK households this January; 2 million more than two years ago.
- New polling, commissioned by the charity with YouGov reveals shocking coping tactics including 2 million households ‘self-disconnecting’ and going without any energy in their home, 19 million going to bed early to save on heating and lighting and 5.5 million using ovens instead of central heating to stay warm.
- Charity warns the UK government’s failure to provide additional support in last week’s Autumn Statement condemns the poorest households to live in cold and unsafe homes this winter.
Ahead of National Energy Action’s Fuel Poverty Awareness Day on Thursday 30 November, the charity reveals 6.5 million UK households will be in fuel poverty from January 2024 when Ofgem’s price cap changes. That’s 2 million up from when the crisis began in October 2021. Then, 4.5 million UK households were unable to keep warm, safe and healthy at home.
New polling by the charity, with YouGov, reveals the shocking coping tactics UK adults are resorting to, two years into the energy crisis, including running up thousands of pounds of debt and going cold and hungry.
41% of prepayment meter customers [equivalent to approximately 2 million households] have found themselves without credit on their prepayment meter and unable to access energy in the last three months.
Additionally in the last three months:
- 43% of adults have gone to bed early to stay warm – that’s 19 million UK adults based on government census data
- 13% have used appliances like ovens to stay warm – 5.5 million
- 23% have left curtains closed all day or put newspaper over windows -10 million
Advisers at the charity have also heard harrowing stories from those in fuel poverty, including one woman who shaved her hair off as she couldn’t afford the energy to wash it regularly. Others have told how they have cold water bucket showers to save using electric showers.
National Energy Action Chief Executive Adam Scorer says:
‘Let’s make no mistake. These are not ‘coping tactics’. No one should have to shower with cold water or disconnect from energy entirely. For two years we’ve been warning that people’s lives are in danger from sky-high energy prices and the situation is only getting worse from January.
‘Many households need to use more energy to run medical equipment at home but are being forced to ration its use or stop using it altogether. Others are turning off fridges, despite them containing vital medicine. Or they are running up unmanageable debt so that they can keep the heating on, causing a devastating impact on mental health. People trapped in a vicious cycle of hospital admission, discharge and readmission. For thousands it means premature death. The failure to provide additional support in last week’s Autumn Statement means the poorest households are living in cold and unsafe homes this winter, with grave consequences for people’s health and well-being.’
The new polling comes after last week’s Autumn Statement, which failed to offer any support even for the poorest households. This, coupled with the Ofgem announcement that energy bills will rise by 5% – that’s £100 more for households with typical usage – means that this winter is set to be even worse.’
This Fuel Poverty Awareness Day, National Energy Action is urging people to share their resources and new polling on Twitter/X with the hashtag #FuelPovertyAwarenessDay. For assets go to www.nea.org.uk/fpad.
Notes for journalists: If this goes online please include a link to www.nea.org.uk and If you put this on Twitter/X or Threads please use @NEA_UKCharity and the hashtag #FuelPovertyAwarenessDay
National Energy Action is calling for:
Vulnerable households to urgently get more support to pay unaffordable energy bills.
Along with well over a hundred other organisations, National Energy Action is calling on all political parties to commit to the introduction of an energy social tariff, providing lower bills or deeper discounts for the most vulnerable households.
Help with record levels of energy debt, which is crushing households, putting up prices and reducing economic activity.
Alongside debt charities, National Energy Action is calling for the new Government to introduce a new ‘help to repay’ scheme to accelerate the repayment of energy debt to put extra money back into people’s pockets and support local economies.
Improved energy efficiency to cut bills, carbon and improve lives.
Early progress next parliament to improve the energy efficiency of fuel-poor homes is essential if statutory fuel poverty and carbon targets are to be met. Early investment to reduce the deepest levels of fuel poverty in homes and communities, alongside new regulatory drivers will generate the greatest societal, economic, and environmental benefits.
About us: National Energy Action, the fuel poverty charity, campaigns so everyone can afford to live in a warm and safe home. This is something denied to millions because of poor housing, low incomes, and high bills.
Working across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, everything we do aims to improve the lives of people in fuel poverty. We directly support people with energy and income maximisation advice, and we advocate on issues including improving the energy efficiency of our homes.
We do not work alone. Partnerships and collaboration have been at the heart of NEA for over 40 years, helping us drive better health and wellbeing outcomes for people struggling to heat their homes.
Polling by YouGov, 2531 adults in the UK on 14 to 15 November 2023. Based on a UK adult population of 44m – extracted from UK Census data at www.data.gov.uk/dataset/76bda24c-7793-407c-8430-7cb69039e9b7/average-age-of-the-population-by-ethnicity
Those with prepayment meters made up 162 of the sample. Results extrapolated to the whole 4.5m household prepayment market across Great Britain.
Population data – 44 million adults based on the government’s census data https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/76bda24c-7793-407c-8430-7cb69039e9b7/average-age-of-the-population-by-ethnicity
Polling by YouGov, 2531 adults in the UK on 14 to 15 November 2023. Based on a UK adult population of 44m – extracted from UK Census data at www.data.gov.uk/dataset/76bda24c-7793-407c-8430-7cb69039e9b7/average-age-of-the-population-by-ethnicity