Campaign to reduce fuel bills launches across the country

The letter highlights how more people living in rural areas are likely to suffer fuel poverty, as rural homes are typically older and harder to heat, and suggests a boiler scrappage scheme, similar to the one recently launched in London, could go a long way in helping to address the urgent problem.

Such an initiative could help the households who rely on heating oil reduce both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 23%.

Malcolm Farrow, from OFTEC, said: “For far too long those people struggling with their fuel bills have been left out in the cold as there just isn’t enough government support available to help them. In 2016, this is an unacceptable situation.

“We’re urging MPs to act now and support a simple boiler scrappage scheme which could help thousands of households upgrade to a modern, condensing boiler. As a result they would see an immediate drop in their fuel bills as well as a reduction in their CO2 emissions.”

An estimated 4.5 million people in the UK currently live in fuel poverty and last year saw the highest number of excess winter deaths for 15 years, partly because of many vulnerable people living in cold homes they couldn’t afford to adequately heat.

Malcolm added: “Whilst the households who rely on heating oil are benefitting from a significant fall in oil prices, paying on average £200 less per year than homes on mains gas, there are still far too many people being forced to turn down their heating to keep warm. This puts them at risk of serious health problems. We are urging local MPs to take action now to help households become more energy efficient and in turn reduce fuel poverty across the country.”

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