144 lines
4.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
144 lines
4.0 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
finance
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personalfinance
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comment
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8255695
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-----
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# 'Price rises and freeze in energy help leave poorest at risk'
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## With one of the coldest winters in recent memory and price rises from five
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of the big six suppliers, worries about energy bills will be sending shivers
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down the spines of millions of the poorest consumers.
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By Jonathan Stearn of Consumer Focus 7:30AM GMT 13 Jan 2011
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[Comments][1]
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Shockingly, one in five households in Britain - around 5.5 million - are
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currently living in fuel poverty. As energy bills rise, this number will only
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climb higher without strong action from the Government and responsible moves
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from energy firms.
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Fuel poor households not only spend a much bigger proportion of their income
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on their heating, they are also much more likely to live in cold, energy-
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inefficient homes. This means that to make ends meet, hard-stretched
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pensioners, families and disabled people face incredibly difficult choices on
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whether to cut back on their heating or the food they put on the table - which
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could put their health at risk.
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Yet, despite the poorest consumers finding it increasingly hard to meet their
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energy bills, the help available to these households has been cut. Funding for
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the Government's Warm Front scheme, which gives grants for heating and energy
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efficiency improvements, has been cut to less than a third of its previous
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budget as part of the reduction in public expenditure.
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Funds for Warm Front this year have already run out and the scheme has been
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frozen until April 2011.
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Energy efficiency measures are still available under another scheme run by
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energy suppliers - the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target. But as fuel-poor
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households aren't the main target of the scheme, many vulnerable people are
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excluded from much-needed help to make their homes more energy efficient.
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## Related Articles
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* [Energy tariffs: the hall of shame][2]
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13 Jan 2011
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* [Gas and electricity prices: how the big firms compare][3]
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13 Jan 2011
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* [Energy companies accused of 'profiteering'][4]
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13 Jan 2011
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Suppliers also offer discounted tariffs. However, it is at their discretion
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who these are offered to, so many vulnerable families and disabled people in
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particular miss out.
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The shrunk down Warm Front funding needs to be stretched further by allowing
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the scheme to focus on heating and using the CERT scheme to make energy
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efficiency improvements for vulnerable and low income households. We also want
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to see discounted energy tariffs extended to any household entitled to Cold
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Weather payments and to low income families.
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Despite cuts and restrictions, there are some schemes to help those finding it
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hard to pay their bills. People should speak to their supplier and seek advice
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from an agency such as the Energy Saving Trust, Citizens Advice or Age UK.
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_Jonathan Stearn is an energy expert at Consumer Focus _
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**[![][5] ][6]Are you looking for a career in the utilities sector? [Telegraph
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Jobs][6] currently has large numbers of [Energy and Utilities][7] and [Oil and
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Gas vacancies][8] listed [![][9]][8]**
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[X][10] Share & bookmark
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* Share: [Share][10] [ ][12] [ ][13]
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[Tweet][14]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/comment/8255695/Price-
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rises-and-freeze-in-energy-help-leave-poorest-at-risk.html
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Telegraph
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## [Comment][15]
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* ### [Finance »][16]
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* ### [Personal Finance »][17]
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* ### [Consumer Tips »][18]
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* ### [Household bills »][19]
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[X][10] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][11]
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Share:
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* [ ][10]
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* [ ][12]
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* [ ][13]
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* [Tweet][14]
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* Advertisement
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![][20]
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telegraphuk
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