Arctic air is due to move in this weekend and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued its first yellow cold weather alert this year for the North East, the North West, Yorkshire and The Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands. It lasts until 21 November.
It means already struggling low-income and vulnerable households will need to spend even more to keep their homes warm, with millions being forced to ration their heating to dangerous levels.
Ofgem will announce the level of the energy price cap from January, on Friday 22 November. The cap is currently set at £1,717 per year for a typical household, which National Energy Action estimates leaves 6 million UK households in fuel poverty.
Also, on Monday Cornwall Insight is expected to give its final forecast for the price cap period from January to the end of March.
National Energy Action Director of Policy and Advocacy Peter Smith says, ‘With energy bills rising since October and far less support available nationally this winter, millions of people are already rationing their energy use to dangerous levels or getting deeper into debt trying to keep warm. Sadly, even this brief cold spell will be a threat to people’s health and worse and will create further extreme hardship for millions of households.
‘On top of the impact from a drop in temperatures, Ofgem will soon confirm the price cap for the remainder of the winter. With increased wholesale prices in the last few months, there won’t be any let up in the unaffordable cost of energy. This means cold weather will continue to have a devastating impact on the most vulnerable people.’
National Energy Action’s Fuel Poverty Awareness Day (FPAD) takes place on Wednesday 27 November. The charity will be sharing more details about this project and others on Linked In, Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #FuelPovertyAwarenessDay. Click here for resources https://www.nea.org.uk/who-we-are/nea-campaigns/fpad/ and link here if your article goes online.
Notes to editors
- National Energy Action (NEA), is the national fuel poverty charity, working across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to improve the lives of people in fuel poverty. We directly support people with energy and income maximisation advice, and we advocate on issues such as the current energy crisis and the need to improve the energy efficiency of our homes. See: www.nea.org.uk/.
- National Energy Action’s Fuel Poverty Awareness Day (FPAD) takes place on Wednesday 27 November. There are currently 6 million UK households in fuel poverty – unable to stay warm, safe and healthy at home. Our Supporter Pack and more information can be found here: www.nea.org.uk/who-we-are/nea-campaigns/fpad
- The links between cold homes and ill health are well recognised. When the temperature falls below 16°C, respiratory function is impaired. When it reaches 12°C increased strain is placed on the cardiovascular system. When the temperature reaches 5-8°C, an increased risk of death can be observed at population level. Whilst cold weather directly triggers these impacts, it can take 3 days after a cold spell for deaths from coronary thrombosis to peak, and 12 days for deaths from respiratory conditions. It can take up to 40 days for deaths to return to average levels.
- In 2018, National Energy Action (NEA) and Energy Action Scotland (EAS) investigated the major challenges the UK experienced during the severe cold weather earlier that year, the so-called “Beast from the East”. The report noted the prolonged cold spell caused a surge in preventable deaths amongst the frail and elderly and detailed how thousands more vulnerable households were left stranded without access to support. Beyond preventable deaths the report highlighted the impacts left national and local health and social care services ‘creaking at the seams’.
- Based on ONS data just in England there were as many as 1724 extra deaths during the Beast from the East (22nd Feb to 3rd March 2018), across the UK the number the number may even be as high as 2000. The causes vary but they estimate up to 570 of the excess deaths were attributable to respiratory diseases, 690 to cardio-vascular diseases and 520 vulnerable people may have perished in cold homes during the freezing weather. Other causes may have included influenza, trips and falls or in a small number of cases, hyperthermia. Many more thousands died in the weeks following the cold snap, with 37,020 Excess Winter Deaths predicted across the U.K.