Advertisement

'Big six' energy companies meet over fuel poverty

Representatives from the "big six" energy companies have met in Westminster to discuss how to tackle fuel poverty.

The issue affects more than two million households in the UK and is an acute problem every winter.

A charity has found that more than half of energy customers are completely unaware that help is available to low-income households and vulnerable people.

Turn2Us, which helps people tackle poverty across the UK, is hosting the event and has spoken to 4,000 people over the past three months.

Other findings include that 46% of people say they have had to cut back on heating to save money, and for older people that figure increases to 55%.

The idea of automatically putting low-income and vulnerable customers on the lowest tariffs available was discussed at the meeting.

Steve Crabb, from British Gas, told Sky News: "We don't believe in automatically shifting people without their permission.

"We try to call customers to speak to them and explain what is available to them, and we are going to be doing more of that in the coming year."

Sarah-Jane suffers from epilepsy and eyesight problems, and last year found herself seriously behind on her energy bills.

However, she had no idea that there was help available to people in vulnerable situations.

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) told Sky News: "I haven't put the heating on for years. I put it on for half an hour in the evening but with the storage heaters there's not much point - I put on another layer.

"The elderly people I know are dreading it - no one will put their heating on at the moment. If they're in fuel poverty it's very, very hard."

There are a number of schemes that provide support to vulnerable customers including the Government-led Warm Home Discount, individual support grants, the Cold Weather Payment, and practical support from suppliers themselves.

Discussions between the energy companies, charity leaders and industry figures will concentrate on how to increase awareness of these options.

Anthony Pygram from the regulator Ofgem said: "Suppliers should treat their customers fairly, so if people are vulnerable, they should recognise that and give those customers the help that they need.

"If customers are concerned that they could be going into debt with their supplier, they should contact the supplier as soon as possible."