Focus winter energy payments to help the poorest

Almost one in five households struggle to pay power bills and heat their homes. (Image: Getty)

Thu, 30 Mar 2023

Extending and more narrowly targeting the winter energy payment is one of the many ideas being put forward to tackle energy hardship.The government’s Energy Hardship Expert Council has released a discussion paper on how to deal with the issue of many people not being able to afford electricity.The paper said a significant proportion of low-income households are facing energy hardship.Based on 2018/19 data from the Household Economic Survey, almost 20% of all households report insufficient income to adequately heat their home, rising to 37...

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