Thousands more households could be in fuel poverty by Christmas{uk}

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/17/households-face-fuel-poverty-christmas


Rising energy prices have added about 7% to annual fuel bills in recent weeks. Photograph: Alamy

About 300,000 more households could be in fuel poverty by Christmas, according to reports published on Monday, which warn that a government scheme to improve the energy efficiency of homes could take 30 years to succeed and add to energy prices in the meantime.

The reports are being published as the energy secretary, Ed Davey, attends a summit with electricity and gas company bosses, regulators and consumer groups to discuss rising energy prices and how the industry serves its customers. At the Fair Energy Summit, organised by Policy Review Intelligence, Davey will meet the heads of British Gas, E.ON and Co-operative Energy.

Spiralling energy prices have added about 7% to average annual fuel bills recently. More pain is due in the new year, when price increases announced by E.ON take effect.

Estimates suggest that for every 1% increase in energy prices, about 40,000 households are pushed into fuel poverty – defined as when consumers spend more than 10% of their income on heating.