Fuel Allowance Initiative Welcome News For Those In Fuel Poverty, Says Consumer Council
Thursday 8 December 2011
The Consumer Council has welcomed today’s announcement by the Office Of the First Minister and deputy First Minister that £23 million will be paid to those most in need. The Consumer Council is also calling on the NI Executive to include long-term solutions for fuel poverty as a key commitment in its Programme for Government currently out for consultation.
Antoinette McKeown, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council said: “As a member of the Fuel Poverty Coalition Northern Ireland, the Consumer Council has welcomed the news that an additional fuel payment is to be made to almost 250,000 households to help cover the costs of heating their home during this winter. This brings much needed immediate relief for many households here given one in two households are in fuel poverty. In particular, we welcome the extension of this payment to cancer patients given the impact of fuel poverty within this group. The Consumer Council will continue to call for the NI Executive to develop sustainable solutions to remove households in fuel poverty. Measures such as energy brokering[1], regulation of the oil industry[2] and incentives to encourage fuel poor households to move to natural gas[3] could all eliminate fuel poverty. The Consumer Council, as a member of the Fuel Poverty Coalition, is commited to working with our Assembly to address this issue to eradicate fuel poverty in NI.”
[1] Energy brokering involves using the purchasing power of the Government’s estate to negotiate lower heating oil, natural gas and electricity tariffs/prices for fuel poor households
[1] A recent OFT report said it was an “oddity” of the NI Market that the most common heating fuel, heating oil, is unregulated while the less common natural gas is regulated.
[1] Consumer Council research shows that it costs a household £1000 per year more to heat a home with oil as compared to gas.
ENDS
- Consumer Council media contact: Pauline Gordon – telephone 028 9067 4807 or 07909 972704, email pgordon@consumercouncil.org.uk
- The Consumer Council is an independent consumer organisation, working to bring about change to benefit Northern Ireland’s consumers. The Council campaigns for high standards of service and protection and a fair deal for all. It also carries out research, gives advice and publishes reports and other publications. It deals with individual complaints about buses, trains, planes, ferries, natural gas, electricity, coal and water.
- For more information, visit our website at www.consumercouncil.org.uk
[1] Energy brokering involves using the purchasing power of the Government’s estate to negotiate lower heating oil, natural gas and electricity tariffs/prices for fuel poor households
[2] A recent OFT report said it was an “oddity” of the NI Market that the most common heating fuel, heating oil, is unregulated while the less common natural gas is regulated.
[3] Consumer Council research shows that it costs a household £1000 per year more to heat a home with oil as compared to gas.
