Quarter of a million households face 'fuel poverty'

Over 250,000 UK households are facing a stark future of "fuel poverty" if, as expected, gas and electricity bills continue to rise.

Energywatch chief executive Alan Asher is predicting a 15 per cent increase in gas and electricity bills this year, threatening thousands with the prospect of not being able to afford their fuel bills.

The Department of Trade and Industry estimates that for every one per cent hike in gas and electricity bills 40,000 households are condemned to fuel poverty.

"It is a worrying time for vulnerable customers, with record price hikes expected to be announced and a colder than average winter forecast," said utility analyst Ann Robinson.

"We are increasingly aware that more vulnerable customers are at grave risk of falling into fuel poverty. The elderly and people in the lower income brackets are least likely to have switched energy supplier since privatisation."

Fuel poverty is defined as when a household is forced to spend more than ten per cent of total income to heat their home to an adequate standard (21 degrees centigrade in the living room and 18 degrees centigrade in other rooms).

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