Author: Simon Francis

Investment aims to boost community energy schemes

The Government has announced a £1 billion “local power plan” to expand community-owned clean energy projects across the UK, from solar panels on public buildings to small-scale hydro schemes.

Ministers have called the plan “the biggest ever investment in community energy.”

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“This boost for community energy has real potential to help bring down bills while keeping the benefits of clean power rooted in local places.

“For too long, households have been trapped paying the price of a broken energy system where profits flow out to major companies, while communities living in cold, damp homes see little return. Community-owned renewables can start to change that, cutting costs, strengthening energy security and generating income for vital local services.

“But clean energy should not just be about new generation, it must also be about guaranteeing warmer homes, lower energy bills and building a better energy system.”

Shell and Equinor deepen UK fossil ties as more profits posted

Energy giant Shell has posted adjusted profits for the fourth quarter of £2.39 billion and has announced another £2.7 billion of share buybacks on top of a dividend hike.

It comes the day after Equinor also large profits. The two firms have recently announced they will merge their offshore drilling operations in the UK, with each company owning 50% of the joint venture and Equinor contributing its £1.3 billion UK ‘tax shelter’ – or credits that can be used against paying future UK taxes.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said:

“With Shell reporting another substantial profits haul, it’s worth remembering that these corporate windfalls do not occur by accident.

“For example, the company’s new joint venture with Equinor to merge the two firms’ UK fossil fuel assets highlights just how intertwined big energy profits, tax arrangements and supply of gas from a depleting North Sea reserve have become.

“But as debate continues over the future of the Energy Profits Levy, the contrast between firms locking in billions of profit and households struggling with high energy bills is stark. Ministers must ensure the system is on the side of the consumers, not the energy giants that have generated more than £125 billion in UK profits since 2020, even as millions live in cold, damp homes.”

Equinor posts $6.2bn quarter as households continue to face winter hardship

Equinor, the Norwegian fossil fuels group, has posted adjusted earnings before tax in the last three months of 2025 of $6.2 billion.

While the North Sea is running out of gas, the firm is set to benefit from the UK market into the future with around 10% of national demand in the hands of two companies – Equinor and Centrica – under a deal struck in 2025.

Combined, energy giants have generated over £125 billion in profits on their UK operations since the energy crisis started according to an analysis of company reports.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“Equinor’s latest results show that even major producers continue to deliver multi-billion-dollar profits, with plenty of money still flowing out of consumers’ bills and back to the energy giants and their shareholders.

“Yet while companies like Equinor capitalise on the ongoing energy bills crisis, millions of UK households are in a fifth winter of hardship.

“The contrast between corporate gains and household pain underscores the urgent need for a fairer energy system that uses excess industry returns to cut bills and improve home energy efficiency, not line shareholder pockets.”

Warm Home Discount extended across GB through to winter 2030/31

The £150 Warm Home Discount will be provided to eligible households every winter until 2030/1.

It follows the expansion of the Warm Home Discount last year, adding 2.7 million families to the scheme and bringing the total number of eligible households to around six million.

In England and Wales, households who are receiving a qualifying means-tested benefit should get the discount automatically.

In Scotland, the UK Government has implied that significant changes are expected. While an estimated 345,000 Scottish households will receive it automatically, some who previously received the benefit may now miss out.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“As gas prices continue to demonstrate their volatility, reaching an 11-month high in recent days, keeping the Warm Home Discount in place avoids a damaging cliff-edge for households struggling through a fifth winter of the energy bills crisis.

“But simply rolling it forward at the same level, with the same rules, risks locking in a scheme that we already know doesn’t reach everyone who needs help.

“If Ministers intend the Warm Home Discount to be the backbone of energy bill support to 2030, they cannot freeze it in its current form.

“Right now, too many people are left out altogether or not given enough support to make a meaningful difference. This includes households with electric-only heating, people living off the gas grid, residents of park homes and private networks, and families facing much higher costs because of disability, illness or poor housing.

“Without uplifts for high-cost households and a clear application route for those not captured by the main scheme, it will continue to miss large numbers of people in genuine fuel poverty.

“Industry Initiatives must also be properly funded and strengthened to catch those the support excludes, including people on non-standard supplies and those with additional health needs. And in Scotland, any move to automatic data-matching must be matched by expanded Industry Initiatives, clear supplier duties, and close monitoring to ensure households who previously qualified do not quietly lose support.”

The Coalition’s full response to the Government’s consultation on this issue is available as a pdf.

More affordable homes and overhaul of social housing standards announced

New plans have been announced an additional 300,000 more social and affordable homes alongside an overhaul of standards in the sector.

The Government will invest £39bn in the Social and Affordable Homes Programme and it has confirmed moves to raise standards across existing social housing stock through a new Decent Homes Standard.

These reforms promise tougher action on damp and mould, stronger enforcement of repairs, and warmer, more energy-efficient homes. From 2030, social landlords will also be required to meet higher energy efficiency standards, reducing energy bills for tenants.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“These measures are a welcome step towards better homes and lower bills, especially if the new standards finally get a grip on damp, mould and poor insulation in social housing.

“People have suffered for far too long in substandard housing and with high energy bills. Those households suffering in fuel poverty need new social housing or home upgrades to reach them as a priority and as soon as possible.

“When it comes to upgrades funded through the landmark Warm Homes Plan, this work must link up with a Warm Homes Guarantee, so every household gets trusted advice during the process, strong consumer protections and a clear promise that energy bills will fall after work is done.”

Heat network customers to see increase in protections

More than 500,000 heat network customers will receive greater consumer protections across England, Scotland and Wales.

Ofgem will now have powers to act if a heat network operator puts up prices unfairly, and if an operator delivers a poor level of service, with compensation awarded to customers who suffer a service outage through the Energy Ombudsman.

Homes and businesses on heat networks will receive clearer, itemised billing – with previous cases of customers being issued with an unexplained monthly charge – and there will be greater support for vulnerable customers.

Some heat network customers saw energy prices rises of up to 450% during the energy bills crisis.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:
“Bringing heat networks under Ofgem regulation is an important and long-overdue step. These networks should be able to deliver low cost energy for some of the poorest households in the country, but for years, heat network customers have effectively been second-class energy consumers, facing huge price hikes, poor service and little meaningful protection.

“Today’s change should finally give heat network customers basic rights around fair pricing, clear billing and redress when things go wrong. But regulation alone won’t fix everything. Ofgem and Ministers must now make sure these powers are used robustly, vulnerable households are properly protected, and that heat networks genuinely deliver what they promise: affordable, reliable heat that helps tackle fuel poverty, not deepen it.”

30,000 homes hit by defective insulation as MPs call for fraud investigation

The Public Accounts Committee report into botched insulation schemes set up by the previous government confirms that the Energy Company Obligation was allowed to operate within a system that was fragmented, poorly overseen and fundamentally unfit to protect vulnerable households.

Over 30,000 households have been left with defective installations, many facing damp, mould, stress and in some cases serious health and safety risks.

Such is the extent of the problem, the report recommends ‘given the likely role of fraud in the poor quality installations, the Department should refer the issue to the Serious Fraud Office to investigate.’

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“The report confirms a clear failure of a system that was supposed to protect people in fuel poverty.

“Done properly, home upgrades and insulation are among the safest ways to bring down energy bills. Done badly, as we’ve seen, they can cause real harm.

“Thousands of households have been left living with defective insulation, facing damp, mould, stress and in some cases serious risks to their health and safety. The Committee is right to say there were serious failings at every level. What’s shocking is not just the scale of the damage, but how long it was allowed to happen without effective intervention. The priority now must be to find and fix every affected home as fast as possible, with a cast-iron guarantee that no household will pay a penny to put this right.

“And this must also mark a turning point. If the government’s Warm Homes Plan is to succeed, it has to be built around a Warm Homes Guarantee which gives every household independent advice, guarantees quality and rapid fixes when things go wrong, provides clear consumer protection and redress, and delivers a simple promise that bills will actually come down after the work is done.”

Fuel Poverty Action (FPA) has called for the £428 million earmarked for the scheme’s wrap up and remediation is actually used to get good contractors to fix damaged homes where other routes have failed. Jonathan Bean from FPA commented:

“We would love to believe the Warm Homes Plan’s claim that five million homes will be successfully upgraded and bills and fuel poverty slashed. However the catastrophic failures of current retrofit schemes shows this is very unlikely.

“The Government needs to get its own house in order with rapid action to fix the tens of thousands of defective ECO4 and GBIS retrofits, boost skills training, guaranteed bill savings and quality assurance.”

Vulnerable customers left waiting 19 months for winter support

Thousands of OVO customers did not receive their Warm Home Discount payments for winter 2023/24 until November 2025, more than 19 months late, leaving thousands without vital support during the coldest winter months.

Of the customers impacted, 7,726 were on the Priority Services Register and classed as vulnerable energy consumers, including 4,066 who were medically vulnerable. OVO will pay a total of £2,765,200 in compensation, including £150 to all affected customers, an additional £150 to those who are medically vulnerable, and £100 for each instance of self-disconnection between 31 March and 31 May 2024.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:
“This is a shocking failure that left thousands of vulnerable households without vital support when they needed it most.

“No one should be forced to go through winter without support because a supplier failed to meet its obligations. While compensation is right, it does not undo the harm caused by people missing out on help during the coldest months, when the risks to health and safety are highest.

“This case underlines why protections for vulnerable households must be automatic, enforceable and backed by meaningful penalties. It also shows why we need stronger consumer standards and faster redress when things go wrong. In this context, it is utterly absurd that Ofgem is currently considering plans to water down regulations in its ‘consumer outcomes’ consultation.”

Years of new North Sea licenses produced 36 days of gas

New analysis by energy consultancy Voar shows that hundreds of oil and gas licences handed out by the previous government have delivered almost nothing in return.

Research by energy consultancy Voar found that seven licensing rounds between 2010 and 2024 led to just 20 new and re-licensed fields, which together have so far produced the equivalent of just 36 days of gas.

Even over their full lifetimes, those fields are expected to deliver less than six months of gas in total. Polling now shows public support for this shift, with a majority of Scots surveyed backing a move away from oil and gas and strong support for prioritising clean energy as the route to long-term jobs and investment.

Meanwhile, the chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee of MPs has claimed the Government should weaken the windfall tax on oil and gas companies, despite ministers reaffirming that the Energy Profits Levy will remain in place until March 2030 at the latest and be replaced by a reformed mechanism thereafter

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“There is a real risk to households in clinging to a broken system that delivers high bills and volatile prices as the North Sea runs out of gas.

“Hundreds of licences handed out over the past decade have delivered barely a month’s worth of gas, while oil and gas jobs have more than halved. This industry is in geological decline, whether politicians like it or not

“Despite this, just 27 energy firms have made around £40 billion in UK profits in the last two years, even with the Energy Profits Levy in place. That is why the levy must continue, and why it must be followed by a stronger, reformed mechanism after 2030 that ensures energy companies contribute fairly while households are still struggling.

“But taxation alone is not enough. The UK needs a properly funded plan to manage the decline of the North Sea in a way that protects workers and communities, cuts bills, invests in clean energy and upgrades cold, leaky homes.

“The real test now is whether politicians will commit to delivering secure jobs, affordable energy and an end to fuel poverty, or if they allow the same broken system to keep failing people.”

Wind power shows how Britain can cut bills and create jobs

A raft of new renewables have been approved by Ministers to help secure Britain’s energy supply and protect households from price shocks linked to the cost of gas.

12 offshore wind projects have been given permission for development with an average wholesale cost of £90 per megawatt hour of energy generated (£90/mwh). In 2026 to date the cost of electricity generation has been around £94/mwh. The projects are expected to create at least 7,000 jobs.

Data from ECIU suggests that without wind power on the grid, the cost of electricity in 2025 could have been as high as £121 per MWh meanwhile, experts claim that new gas-fired power plants are unable to generate electricity much below £150/mwh.

Gas-fired electricity-generating power stations have also been controversial for charging extortionate rates to operate during peak demand times, making profits which were not subject to the Windfall Tax.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“These auction results are exactly the kind of outcome households need after years of volatile bills driven by fossil fuels.

“Wind power is already cutting prices by pushing expensive electricity generated by gas-fired power stations off the system and this trend looks set to continue. With the North Sea running out of gas and new gas power plants taking close to a decade to deliver, renewables create a credible route to more stable pricing and energy security.

“But lower costs on paper must translate into lower bills in reality.

“Consumers need full transparency on how these contracts will affect prices, clear limits on excess profits across the energy industry and electricity pricing reform so the savings from clean power are properly passed through.

“If that happens, today’s announcement can be a real step towards ending fuel poverty, not just hitting targets.”