As latest figures show the number of households living in fuel poverty in England and Wales has increased to more than 10%, OFTEC is reigniting its calls on Government to develop a heating strategy that is fair for all and will help those most in need.
Fuel poverty data released by the Office of National Statistics earlier this year shows that 2.38 million homes are currently classed as ‘fuel poor’, representing a 1.4% increase on previous figures. The statistics also underline that fuel poverty is more prevalent in rural areas where properties are typically older, poorly insulated and therefore harder to heat.
Additional figures confirmed earlier this month reveal that during winter 2014/15, there were 43,850 excess winter deaths (EWD) in England and Wales – the highest level seen in over 15 years. An important factor in these deaths each year is the high number of vulnerable people living in homes they can’t afford to adequately heat.
OFTEC CEO Paul Rose, comments: ““In this day and age it is totally unacceptable that so many people are still dying from the cold because they can’t afford to adequately heat their homes.
“Fuel poverty levels are higher in rural parts of the country – approximately 14% compared to around 10% in urban areas – even though the 1.4 million oil using households in the UK are enjoying by far the cheapest heating bills of all the major fuels. This imbalance is largely because the UK’s rural housing stock is currently amongst the least energy efficient in Europe, with poor insulation and inefficient heating systems leading to higher fuel bills.
“OFTEC urges the Government to consider this reality when re-shaping the UK’s heating strategy which is currently leaving too many people out in the cold.”
At present, the main energy efficiency scheme open to low income households is the ECO initiative but this is due to finish in April 2017. Meanwhile, the only option for rural, off-grid households that don’t qualify for ECO is the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). However, the focus of the RHI is firmly on carbon reduction by encouraging the take up of 100% renewable heating technologies such as heat pumps, rather than energy efficiency.
Whilst the RHI is workable for the relatively few households that have sufficient disposable income to afford the high upfront costs of installing renewable technologies, it’s prohibitively expensive for most households. Renewable systems also cost far more to run than oil heating, even with the RHI incentive payments, so the scheme is clearly not targeted towards the millions of average income households who most urgently need the help.
Furthermore, heat pumps in particular are impractical for most typical rural properties to install because, without extensive insulation and the fitting of larger radiators and/ or underfloor heating, they do not produce sufficient heat.
Paul Rose continues: “The UK desperately needs a new heating strategy which combines energy efficiency measures with carbon reduction. Also, one that is affordable and practical for the majority of consumers, otherwise take up will always be limited.
“The idea of a boiler replacement scheme which we have long championed to encourage consumers with older heating systems to switch to high efficiency, modern condensing boilers could help thousands of households to practically and realistically cut their fuel bills – as well as reduce CO2 emissions.
“Low oil prices make now the perfect time to invest in a modern boiler to secure long term savings. We would also like to see more support to better insulate rural homes to stop them ‘leaking’ heat.
“In the longer term, industry is also assessing the viability of producing a bio-oil which will deliver substantial carbon savings for households currently on oil. Greening the fuel is a credible solution for the future which Government needs to recognise in the UK’s heat policy going forward.
“Whilst we recognise these measures will still not be enough to help those in the real depths of fuel poverty, they could ease the pressure for millions of households struggling on the edge and help prevent thousands more pointless deaths from the cold.”
