Currently, the energy crisis means 6.5 million UK households are in fuel poverty. In October 2022 energy bills are predicted to rise to an average of £2,800 a year, an increase of over 40%
NEA estimates that the number of UK households in fuel poverty following the April price cap rise increased by 2 million, from 4.5 million to 6.5 million, an increase of more than 50% in just over six months. This means that almost a quarter of all UK households are in fuel poverty.
It’s also important to note that our estimated increase in fuel poverty is well below the modelled increases for England and Wales by the Resolution Foundation and the Welsh Government. The energy crisis is likely worse even than our estimates.
More households in fuel poverty means more households falling into debt, more households cutting back on other essentials. It means more households rationing their heating to unhealthy levels. We are seeing more demand for our energy advice and income maximisation services. We’re seeing more examples of struggling households resorting to coping strategies such as only heating one room, wearing coats indoors and using public places such as libraries to stay warm.
Polling conducted by YouGov on behalf of National Energy Action showed that 6 out of 10 British households say they would reduce their heating use by a fair amount/great deal if the cost of heating doubles. Too many would have to make a desperate choice between heating and eating.
NEA have been supporting those in energy poverty for almost 40 years, but we have never seen incoming call volumes like this.
From October to February this year we saw a rise of 45%, with us now receiving nearly 2,000 incoming calls for assistance each month. We are however having to turn away nearly 250 calls a month due to the current demand for advice and support.
Thanks to Martin Lewis's kind donation of £100K we are now working on expanding our services to meet some of that demand, but we need your help to bridge the rest of the gap. We want to ensure that we can help everyone who needs it during this time of need.
We're fighting to end Fuel Poverty in the UK - but we can't do this without your support.
We are National Energy Action (NEA) - the national fuel poverty charity, working to ensure that everyone in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is warm and safe at home
Our vision is to end fuel poverty. We work across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to ensure that everyone can afford to live in a warm home.
We do this by
- Providing advice and support to people struggling to heat their homes affordably, either directly or via community engagement projects and outreach
- Campaigning and advocacy to ensure that the needs of fuel poor households are at the heart of policy decisions
- Undertaking research and sharing insights
- Developing accredited training and qualifications to improve standards of energy advice
We can’t do this alone. Our work is delivered in partnership with policy makers, manufacturers, installers, energy suppliers and networks, local authorities, housing associations, universities, and many others with an interest in understanding and supporting those in fuel poverty.
Find out more at NEA.ORG.UK
From the whole team at National Energy Action, thank you to everyone for the incredible support you've shown us already