Energy poverty in the UK – Brenda Boardman

The problem of fuel poverty – as we call it in the UK – has been of concern since the first oil crisis in 1973-4. There is, in reality, no difference between energy poverty and fuel poverty – the descriptions can be used inter-changeably. In both cases, most of the debate is about households, rather than people, as a household shares the property and the heating system, has one refrigerator and washing machine, and pays the bills collectively. Fuel poverty now affects at least one-fifth of all households and the number is rising, because fuel costs are increasing more rapidly than improvements to the energy efficiency of homes. The three main causes of fuel poverty are a combination of: o low incomes o high fuel prices o energy-inefficient buildings that are expensive to run. It is the third of these that is the main cause of fuel poverty, although many of the symptoms – fuel debts, disconnections, ill health, cold homes – are more clearly linked to the first two