750,000 Scots Facing Fuel Poverty

National Energy Action, a charity developed to help educate about fuel poverty, has stated that over 750,000 households in Scotland will be facing fuel poverty this winter.

Fuel poverty is defined as those householders who have to spend a tenth of their income or more on fuel bills.

In fact, a total of 810,000 households in Scotland will be spending more than 10% of their income on heating this year. This is a dramatic rise since 2001, where 310,000 Scottish households were in fuel poverty.

Across the UK it is estimated by the NEA that over 5.1 million households will be in fuel poverty this year, and are expecting winter deaths to rise as a result.

Director of Energy Action Scotland, Norman Kerr, said that ‘it is essential that every effort is made to promote the initiatives that are available to help take people out of fuel poverty’.

The Warm Homes Campaign is designed to help make the Government more aware of the issues of fuel poverty, and encourages the use of schemes to help people improve the energy efficiency of homes and to maximise incomes.

Many of the problems stem from highly inefficient buildings, where as much of a quarter of the heat used is lost through draughty old windows. Double glazing can dramatically help to reduce this heat loss, making homes naturally warmer and allowing householders to turn down their heating bills.