News - Page 2 of 31 - End Fuel Poverty Coalition

£150 energy bill discount: 24 August deadline approaching

Eligible households must be named on their electricity bill by Sunday 24 August to receive the £150 Warm Home Discount automatically.

Over 6 million households – including 900,000 more families with children – will benefit this year after the Government removed restrictions that previously excluded many.

Eligible individuals may not be named if they’ve recently moved, changed supplier, or the account is in a partner’s name.

Billpayers in England, Scotland and Wales are eligible if they receive: Housing Benefit, Income-related ESA, Income-based JSA, Income Support, Pension Credit (Guarantee or Savings Credit) or Universal Credit.

Most will receive the discount automatically.
In Scotland, only Pension Credit recipients are auto-enrolled – others must apply via their supplier.
Pre-payment meter users must ensure their account is in their name.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“There’s many more people set to get the Warm Home Discount this year. But don’t just check you own bill, pass on this information to encourage family, friends and elderly neighbours to check theirs too.

“The expanded Warm Home Discount is a vital lifeline for fuel-poor households. But instead of funding it through the £4 billion in excess profits energy networks pocketed after a regulatory decision, the Treasury chose to pass the cost onto households through bills.”

Why aren’t energy bills falling?

Ofgem is expected to confirm that the unit cost of gas will fall slightly this autumn, but in winter 2020/21, households were paying just 3.5p per unit for gas. Today, the unit price is 6.33p – almost double – and it’s expected to fall only slightly this autumn.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“The unit price set by Ofgem doesn’t just include the wholesale price, but also includes supplier costs and the charges caused by an ageing gas network.

“Gas prices don’t just affect gas bills. Under the energy market’s outdated ‘marginal pricing’ system, the cost of electricity is often set by the most expensive form of generation – usually gas-fired power stations. It’s like going to a bar and being charged for every drink as if you ordered the most expensive one on the menu.

“The reality is gas-fired electricity costs around c.£114 per megawatt hour, compared to just c.£41–£44/MWh for solar and offshore wind. Yet consumers are denied the benefits of these cheaper renewables.

“We’ve been urging the Government to fix this broken pricing system – but it’s unclear whether reforms are still on the table.

“Meanwhile, the North Sea is running out of gas. Even if all new fields are developed, the UK won’t produce enough to meet heating demand by 2027. This leaves us increasingly dependent on imports priced on volatile global markets – and concentrated in the hands of just a few companies like Equinor and Centrica.

“The increase to the price cap this time around is partly driven by the expanded Warm Home Discount – a vital lifeline for fuel-poor households. But instead of funding it through the £4 billion in excess profits energy networks pocketed after a regulatory decision, the Treasury chose to pass the cost onto households through bills.”

Smart meters must work for all consumers

Ofgem has announced that consumers will see greater levels of compensation in the event of smart meter failures.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“We must ensure that electricity pricing is fair and that everyone can access cheaper ‘time of use’ tariffs. Millions of people have been left behind in the smart meter roll out already and it is vital that the energy industry fixes problems with existing meters and compensates customers for failures.

“The main issues with smart meters are when they don’t communicate with the supplier and that is the fault of the Data Communications Company (DCC) and we are concerned that this fault will be exempt from compensation as it could be argued to be outside of the suppliers’ control.

“What’s more, when faults with smart meters are ongoing, it means that even people who want a smart meter may not be able to access from the best tariffs available. This is an issue not one which can’t be dealt with simply by a one off payment.

“And with the North Sea geologically unable to meet our gas heating needs for much longer and the UK set to rely on imports for 94% of its gas by 2050, we must be accelerating efforts to reform electricity pricing, not embedding unfairness. Access to smart tariffs must be universal, and smart meter failures must not become yet another reason why the most vulnerable pay more for energy.”

Energy bills set to rise as UK faces fifth winter of crisis

The latest analyst forecasts for the Ofgem price cap predict a 1% increase in energy bills from 1 October 2025. This removes some of the reduction in bills seen in July 2025. It means energy bills are 67% higher than in winter 2020/21 and predicted to be £20 more expensive than last winter.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“We’re about to face our fifth winter of the energy bills crisis, with the average family still paying hundreds of pounds more than they did just a few years ago.

“If we want affordable, secure energy, the regulator, industry and Government must work together to slash the cost of clean electricity.

“This is even more vital as the North Sea, once seen as the nation’s source of power, is literally running out of gas. Despite what some politicians would have us believe, it simply cannot provide energy for our heating systems in the long term.”

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Government urged to prioritise warmth first in £13.2bn home upgrade plan

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has written to the Minister for Energy Consumers, urging the Government to ensure its £13.2 billion Warm Homes Plan delivers real, lasting benefits for people living in cold, damp and unaffordable homes.

In a detailed briefing also shared with key departments across Whitehall, the Coalition outlines a series of reforms to ensure the landmark retrofit scheme improves lives, protects health and cuts bills for those who need it most.

The Coalition says the success of the scheme should be judged not by how many insulation measures are installed or homes moved to EPC band C, but by how far it goes in ending fuel poverty.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said:

“This is a huge opportunity to fix a scandal that’s been hurting millions of households for years and years.

“Cold homes cause suffering, cost lives and drive up costs for the NHS. The Warm Homes Plan can be the solution – but only if it’s designed around the real needs of people, not just technical targets.”

The Coalition is calling for the Plan to be rooted in a “Warmth First” principle, treating a warm, dry and affordable-to-heat home as a basic human right.

It says the programme must include a “Warm Home Guarantee” to track actual comfort and bill savings, and ensure high-quality installations delivered by skilled local workers.

It also urges the government to fund trusted, face-to-face advice services to help residents through the retrofit journey and access benefits, energy support and legal protections.

The briefing also warns ministers against diverting Warm Homes Plan money into existing schemes, or using it to cut electricity prices for wealthier households. Instead, it argues affordability reforms like levy rebalancing should be funded separately, to avoid punishing low-income households who still rely on gas heating.

In its recommendations, the Coalition draws on lessons from successful past initiatives like the Warm Zones scheme, which provided hands-on support, repeated outreach, and direct help accessing income top-ups—going beyond simple insulation measures to ensure long-term impact.

The spokesperson continued:

“If we’re serious about reducing child poverty, pressure on the NHS, and energy insecurity, this Plan must be more than just insulation. It must be about giving people back control, comfort and dignity in their homes.”

ENDS

To read the full letter and briefing, visit

https://www.endfuelpoverty.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Warm-Homes-Plan-letter-priorities-1.pdf

Housing conditions under scrutiny in new Committee evidence

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has warned MPs that England’s housing crisis is a public health emergency, with millions living in unsafe homes that cause serious illness, exacerbate inequality, and—in extreme cases—lead to death.

In a submission to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee’s inquiry into housing conditions, the Coalition highlighted widespread failures in both social and private rented housing, including persistent damp and mould, poor insulation, and inadequate heating systems.

Drawing on frontline evidence from health workers and social workers, the Coalition cited:

A Medact report revealing that three-quarters of health workers regularly treat patients whose health is harmed by poor housing.
Social Workers Union data showing that 21% of social workers have seen child safeguarding cases linked to cold, damp or unsafe homes.
Persistent delays in essential repairs and a lack of accountability for landlords across both sectors.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said:

“Cold, damp homes are not just uncomfortable—they’re dangerous. Children are being taken into care because of unfit housing. People are ending up in hospital. In some tragic cases, people are dying.

“This is a public health emergency. We need urgent action to strengthen housing standards, fund local enforcement, and ensure that no home is unfit to live in.”

The Coalition’s evidence also raises serious concerns about recent watering down of the Renters’ Rights Bill, including pro-landlord amendments passed in the House of Lords that weaken tenant protections and delay implementation.

The submission calls for:

Full implementation of Awaab’s Law across both social and private rented sectors.
Strengthened Decent Homes Standards with clear energy efficiency targets.
National minimum standards for temporary accommodation, which currently houses thousands of families in substandard conditions.
A national Housing Health and Retrofit Programme to deliver repairs and upgrades, especially in the poorest-performing homes.

ENDS

The full submission is available to view in this pdf.

Smart meter compensation, standing charge tariffs and grid incentives all set for change

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has responded to a series of recent announcements from Ofgem and the UK Government aimed at addressing energy affordability and system reform.

Ofgem has confirmed new standards and automatic compensation for customers with faulty smart meters. These measures are intended to reduce delays, improve installation success rates and help ensure more households can access time-of-use tariffs and lower-cost energy deals.

The Coalition has warned this step must only be the beginning as too many households still face faulty meters and are locked out of savings from the best tariffs on the market.

Ofgem must go further by closing loopholes that allow suppliers to dodge responsibility, regularly enforcing automatic compensation, and requiring transparency on smart meter faults and gaps in service. Without working meters, vulnerable households remain excluded from a fair energy system.

Ofgem has also outlined plans to require all suppliers to offer at least one low or zero standing charge tariff from early 2026. The proposals are designed to offer more choice and flexibility, especially for low-use households, though questions remain around eligibility and accessibility for vulnerable and prepayment customers.

The Coalition warned [pdf] that without safeguards, these tariffs may benefit only those who already self-ration energy or have smart technologies.

Prepayment customers, who are most harmed by standing charges, must be prioritised and protected. Ofgem should also consider defaulting low-usage and vulnerable households onto the most suitable tariff automatically. A rushed implementation during winter could do more harm than good.

A wider review of how network and policy costs are recovered through bills is also under way, with Ofgem seeking views on long-term reforms.

The Coalition welcomed the launch of this review but urged Ofgem to accelerate progress. Changes must be designed to protect low-income, low-use households from regressive fixed costs and to ensure fairer distribution of energy system costs. Long-term reform must prioritise affordability and equity, not just consumer ‘choice’ or supplier convenience.

In a separate decision, Ofgem confirmed changes to how the costs of failed energy suppliers are handled.

These changes aim to protect customers from having to absorb the full costs of future supplier collapses, which have added over £2.3 billion to bills in recent years. The Coalition welcomed this long-overdue intervention, calling it an important move to stop households footing the bill for industry failure.

Meanwhile, the UK Government has announced a new policy offering £125 off energy bills every six months for ten years to households living near new electricity pylons.

The Coalition supports efforts to accelerate the grid upgrades needed to connect renewables and large-scale battery storage to the electricity grid. However, infrastructure must be delivered with public consent ensuring that communities have a meaningful say in what gets built and where. This includes having control over how any ‘compensation’ or community benefit funding is used.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“These steps are moves in the right direction, but the job isn’t done.

“Vulnerable households still face major barriers in accessing fair energy deals, and structural issues like high electricity prices and standing charges remain unresolved.

“With the North Sea running out of gas and import dependence rising, the future of affordable energy lies in homegrown renewables.

“And of course, this needs to be fair to the communities where these vital national projects will take place. But in some areas, investment in local energy projects, insulation schemes, or community facilities may have far greater long-term value than bill discounts.

“Communities must have the power to shape the benefits as well as the infrastructure.”

ENDS

North Sea gas unable to meet national heating needs from 2027

The country will no longer be able to meet heating demand using only domestically extracted gas by 2027, even if new fields are approved, according to new analysis of official North Sea production data.

Official data shows that by 2027, UK gas production is set to fall short of what’s needed just to heat our homes, which currently accounts for 38% of UK gas use. In just two years’ time, more than two-thirds of the UK’s gas needs will be dependent on imports. [1]

The figures provide a clear warning that the North Sea is running out of gas.

Even if new fields are approved, it won’t be enough to reverse the trend and the UK would still be almost entirely (94%) reliant on imports by 2050.

Experts say this has nothing to do with politics or policy — it’s the geological reality after half a century of drilling. Of all the gas estimated to have been in the North Sea basin, just 14% remains commercially viable according to official statistics. [2]

Even the lobbyists working for the North Sea industry admit that the financial viability of any additional extraction is “beyond realistic assumptions” and would only be possible with “major industry change.” [3]

Gas extracted from the North Sea is usually sold on international markets, which also leaves UK consumers subject to volatile prices. But even if the UK took the drastic step of only supplying its national needs, the trend data shows that at current levels of UK demand, existing fields hold just over three years of gas. New fields would add less than half a year.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“The geological reality is that the North Sea basin is dying and there are limited levels of gas for home heating left. The country is simply running out of gas and no amount of new drilling will stop Britain’s deepening dependency on foreign gas.

“The sooner households are supported to move to alternative heating and cooking systems the better.

“But what’s worse right now is that some politicians are dangerously misleading the public by overstating the North Sea’s continuing role in UK energy security.”

Recent polling by Uplift found that around two-fifths (41%) of the public mistakenly believe that there is enough gas left to significantly reduce or eliminate gas imports. [4]

Donald Trump recently claimed there’s a “century of drilling” left in the North Sea. Nigel Farage says the UK should be “self-sufficient” in gas and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has alleged that gas will power Britain “for generations”.

Tessa Khan, executive director at Uplift commented: “Politicians are deliberately and dangerously misleading the public into thinking this country has a secure energy supply in the North Sea, when it is clear we do not.

“The hard truth is that, after 60 years of drilling, the UK has burned most of its gas and no amount of new drilling will change that. Our reliance on foreign gas is going to increase unless and until we shift to renewable energy, like wind, which we’re lucky to have in abundance.

“We cannot afford another decade of delay. Quite apart from the extra costs that households and businesses will incur from continuing to rely on volatile fossil fuels, and the damage they are causing to our climate, the UK’s energy workers need jobs that have a secure future.”

Polling previously found that two-thirds (67%) of the country are already concerned about the impact of the UK’s reliance on oil and gas.

ENDS

[1] Methodology and assumptions for analysis undertaken by the research team at Uplift on behalf of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition.

Residential gas demand is based on estimates from the Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget Balanced Net Zero Pathway (BNZP). If action is not taken to decarbonise in line with the CCC’s BNZP, then the CCC’s Seventh Carbon Budget baseline scenario estimates for residential gas demand suggest that this inflection point will take place in 2026, instead of 2027.

NSTA production projections (March 2025) were used by researchers at Uplift to estimate gas import dependency in the UK through to 2050 under the CCC’s BNZP.

The nation’s gas import dependency is set to rise from 55% today to 68% in 2030, 85% in 2040, and 94% in 2050 — even if new fields like Rosebank, whose reserves are primarily oil destined for export, are given the green light. Even if new licenses were to be approved, the maximum they could reduce import dependency in any given year is again just 2%, meaning that gas import dependency would still soar to 83% in 2040 and 92% in 2050.

On an annual basis, the amounts of gas expected to be produced within already producing or sanctioned UKCS fields were compared against the amounts of gas required to meet UK demand under the Climate Change Committee’s Balanced Net Zero Pathway (as published within the NSTA’s projections).

This established what proportion of UK gas demand could be met by UKCS gas production without the development of new projects, with the remainder needing to be met by gas imports – thus providing a baseline estimate of UK gas import dependency.

This analysis assumes that all gas produced in the UK is used domestically, as estimates for the exportation rates of gas produced in the UKCS are unavailable. However, there is no guarantee that gas produced from UK fields will be used within the UK, and so this is likely to overestimate the amount of gas that will be used to meet UK demand.

As such, this analysis provides the most optimistic estimates of UK gas import dependency. In reality, gas import dependency levels will likely be higher.

To estimate how import dependency could change with the development of new North Sea fields, gas import dependency was recalculated accounting for the NSTA’s production projections for gas with the development of undeveloped discoveries.

To analyse the potential impacts of the Rosebank and Jackdaw projects, gas import dependency was recalculated accounting for the annual gas production estimates published in the Rosebank and Jackdaw Environmental Statements.

Production estimates from the Rosebank and Jackdaw Environment Statements provide the highest range of gas expected to be produced from these fields, which are necessary to assess the worst case environmental impacts. However, the mid case production profiles, which provide the most likely range for production from these fields, are lower. As such, the impacts of the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields on UK gas import dependency will be overstated.

[2] The UK has already extracted 86% of recoverable gas from the UKCS, leaving just 14%, most of which lies within existing fields (8% in existing fields, 1% in new fields, 2% in licensed but undeveloped, and the rest in unlicensed acreage). Based on data in: https://www.nstauthority.co.uk/media/vtjkyqnf/uk-reserves-and-resources-report-as-at-end-2023.pdf

Expert commentary includes:

Andy Samuel, former head of the regulator, North Sea Transition Authority, has said “it’s unlikely, given [the North Sea is] a mature basin and the geology is well-known, that we’re suddenly going to have a situation where we are significantly growing production again.”
Former BP chief Lord Browne has said the decision by the previous government to expand North Sea drilling is “not going to make any difference” to Britain’s energy security and is “symbolic”.

[3] Westwood Global Energy Group “Potential of the UKCS under different scenarios” summary report on behalf of OEUK (June, 2025), p15.

[4] Polling commissioned by Uplift and conducted by Opinium in May 2025, with a representative sample of 2,050 UK adults.

Smart meter rule changes needed as July price cap change comes in

Britain’s smart meter rollout must provide stronger protections for those left without functioning meters or denied access to cheaper energy tariffs.

In its submission to Ofgem’s consultation on Smart Meter Guaranteed Standards of Performance, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said the regulator’s proposals “do not go far enough” and risk “letting down the very people most in need of support.”

The warning comes as the 1 July energy price cap change comes into effect and millions of households are expected to start shopping around for better energy deals. Many of the most competitive tariffs are now only available to customers with working smart meters.

Consumers without functioning smart meters, or who have been unable to get one installed, are often excluded from these deals, further widening the gap between those who can and cannot afford to heat their homes.

“This is fast becoming a two-tier energy system,” the report warns.

“Households without smart meters, often through no fault of their own, are now locked out of the most affordable tariffs. This creates a form of discrimination and risks trapping more people in fuel poverty.”

The Coalition’s submission lays out two key categories of compensation. First, it recommends quarterly automatic compensation for ongoing failures such as:

A smart meter not being connected by the Data Communications Company (DCC).
Areas with no DCC coverage despite consumer requests.
Installation failures in buildings with architectural challenges (e.g. stone walls, first-floor flats).
Smart meters that fail to communicate with suppliers or the DCC.
Smart meters that don’t work properly after installation.

Secondly, it calls for one-off automatic payments for each occasion where:

Meter readings are recorded incorrectly during installation.
Installation appointments aren’t provided within a set timeframe.
Engineers miss scheduled appointments.
Installations fail due to supplier-related issues.

The Coalition says that suppliers should be required to pay compensation even when third-party organisations are at fault, and then reclaim the cost from those responsible in a significant departure from the current system.

It warns that current proposals rely on the phrase “within a supplier’s control” before compensation can be paid out which risks creating loopholes that allow firms to dodge accountability.

Separately, the Coalition has raised concerns with regulators about the impact of increasing reliance on time of use tariffs on vulnerable groups who have less ability to shift demand to alternative times of the day.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“Smart meters can be a force for good, helping households manage their usage, access better tariffs, and reduce costs. But we need to remember those households who are unable to access these tariffs.

“It’s time for energy companies to take full responsibility for the broken smart meter rollout. Consumers have already paid billions for this programme through their bills, yet they are the ones being left without working meters, without access to the best tariffs, and without proper compensation.

“All of these issues are happening at the same time as we see ongoing structural problems in the UK’s energy pricing system continue to drive up the cost of electricity, which remains closely linked to volatile global gas markets under the marginal pricing model.

“The geological reality is that the North Sea basin is dying and there are limited levels of gas for home heating left, the UK is simply running out of gas. No amount of new drilling will stop Britain’s deepening dependency on foreign gas.

“The sooner households are supported to move to alternative heating and cooking systems the better.”

ENDS

The full response to the Ofgem consultation is available to read as a pdf.