Fuel poverty continues to rise

14/07/11

By Dan Smith

Some 5.5 million of the UK's households experienced fuel poverty in 2009, according to the latest statistics.

The Government's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) revealed that in England alone, the 12-month period saw this form of poverty affect four million homes.

This compared to the previous year's figure of 3.3 million.

Utility bill hikes may have led to this upward surge in fuel poverty, and energy suppliers British Gas and Scottish Power have both announced further price increases over recent weeks.

Wholesale gas costs were cited as the reason behind the British Gas increase.

Energy consumers may be hit with more bill rises in the near future, with other members of the 'big six' group of suppliers expected to follow suit.

For a home to be defined as being fuel poor, the costs of heating it need to account for more than 10 per cent of a household's overall income.