Fuel Poverty and Green Deal

Fuel poverty is when a household spends more than 10% of its income on heating the home. That is the current definition that the Government is using. There is a large study currently going on to see if this is the best way to measure fuel poverty.

The current system is very susceptible to fluctuations in the price of gas and electricity. The Green Deal is intended to impact the poorest in society by improving the efficiency in their homes through insulation measures. If you have a highly insulated home you will spend less on heating it and thus bring your home out of fuel poverty.

There are a few caveats to the above.  In the Fuel Poverty Report that was published by the DECC it is suggested that actually the poorest are in private rented housing, which has a lower number of houses rated F-G grade in an Energy Performance Certificate(EPC).  It is in fact the privately rented sector that has the most poorly performing housing stock so it makes this section of society more vulnerable to the swings in energy prices.  It should also be noted that this is the section of society that will have to get permission off the landlord before any Green Deal measures can be installed, although there is going to a law barring any F properties being rented out by 2018.

What conclusions can we draw from fuel poverty?

• The first that is highlighted in the above report is that the current way that fuel poverty is measured is not accurate or the best.
• Fuel poverty affects 7 million people in 3 million houses. This is a massive issue that the Green Deal nor the DECC can tackle alone. The effects of fuel poverty have an impact on health, poverty, community and climate change.

We would love to hear your thoughts about fuel poverty and the Green Deal. Please post your comments below.

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