Publications

The Hills fuel poverty review interim report proposes a new definition of fuel poverty, termed the ‘low income/high costs’ definition[1]. The proposal represents a radical departure from the current definition of fuel poverty, namely households that need to spend 10 per cent or more of their income on fuel to maintain adequate temperatures in the home and meet other energy needs.

The proposed new definition has a number of advantages over the existing definition, for example it takes into account housing costs and household size in calculating income. Thus, it gives a much better indication of the resources low income households have available to spend on fuel. However, a number of fuel poverty researchers and advocates have raised concerns about the ‘energy costs’ threshold which forms part of the proposed definition. These concerns relate to the implications of the threshold both for households classed as ‘fuel poor’ and for future fuel poverty and climate change policy.

Consumer Focus therefore commissioned Dr Richard Moore to carry out an analysis of the proposed definition and some possible options for setting an alternative ‘energy costs’ threshold. This report presents the results of this research. We consider it provides a valuable insight into fuel poverty and makes an important contribution towards the fuel poverty review. We hope that the review team takes heed of the research findings with respect to refining its proposed definition of fuel poverty.