Millions in Fuel Poverty in the UK

By Sylvie Rouhani Deputy Editor, Taxpayers Against Poverty - October 2025 

With the cost of living crisis, the cuts on Winter Fuel Allowance, poor housing, and ever increasing energy prices, millions of individuals are in fuel poverty in the UK. Most people can not afford to keep warm and are living in fear of repercussions, while energy companies’ CEO enjoy high bonuses and financial success.

The definition of “fuel poverty” and how it is measured.

Fuel Poverty is when a household can not afford to pay increasing energy bills. As a result, individuals are not able to keep their home sufficiently warm, and they often are in debts with energy companies.

 National Energy Action explains: The definition of fuel poverty that we use is that a household is in fuel poverty if it needs to spend 10% or more of its income on energy in order to maintain a satisfactory heating regime.”

The government measures it, using the Low Income, Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) definition to measure fuel poverty in the UK (Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland use other definitions) For an household to be classified as fuel poor, it needs to meet 2 criteria:

i)                Low energy efficiency. This includes all households with a Fuel Poverty Energy Efficiency Rating (FPEER) of band D or below.

ii)              Low income. This includes all households whose residual household income would be below the official poverty line if they were to spend their modelled energy costs.

However, Fuel Poverty Action declares that the LILEE definition distorts the real number of households in fuel poverty as it does not consider the ever increasing energy prices.

To measure fuel poverty three factors, need to be included:

1.    Household income: as a results of the “Cost of Living Crisis”: the ever rising prices of food and rent, as well as a decline in financial support and of adequate wages, more and more household struggle to pay their energy bills, and go without heating and hot water.

2.    Energy prices: the “Energy crisis” started in 2021 and, since, fuel cost have been unstable, causing many instabilities. Part of the “Cost of Living Crisis,” the energy crisis is pushing the most financially vulnerable into further poverty. The most recent estimate of six million people living in fuel poverty, in the UK.

3.    Fuel Poverty Energy Efficiency Rating (FPEER) To be classified as fuel poor, a household needs to a Band D, and above, rating. Unfortunately, it does not account for the households in Band C and below, impacted by the cost of living crisis. FPEER is based on the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) meaning, prices are predicted rather than on who much energy costumers use.

“The SAP methodology details an approach to calculating how much energy is required to meet a standardised heating regime (e.g. heating the home for 2 hours in the morning and 7 hours in the evening on weekdays) to achieve prescribed indoor temperatures (e.g. 21°C in the main living area and 18°C elsewhere) in the dwelling being assessed. In addition, standardised assumptions are used about the amount of lighting required.” (Department of Energy & Climate Change – Fuel Poverty Energy Efficiency Rating Methodology)

What started the fuel poverty crisis?

·      In July 1986, former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher announced the privatisation of energy fuel providers. She assumed privatisation equalled efficiency and that it will push competitors to keep their prices low. Unfortunately, privatisation created a space for high profit margins for CEO of the main energy suppliers.

·      More recently, a fuel crisis started on the 1^st of October 2021, when Ofgem increased the Price Cap (“The maximum amount energy suppliers can charge you for each unit of energy and standing charge if you're on a standard variable tariff”.) from £1,138 to £1, 277, with a 50% increase in the wholesale of gas price. The number of households living in fuel poverty reached to 4.5 million.

·      Another driving factor was the invasion of Ukraine, by Russia, which drove the fuel prices to increase.

·      On 1^st April 2022, Ofgem announces further increase of the Price Cap, a rise of 54%, National Energy Action estimated that 6.5 million households were pushed into fuel poverty.

·      On 1^st October 2022, NEA, 6.7 million households were in fuel poverty, with an approximate annual energy bill of £2 500.

·      Up until 2025, the Price Cap has been increasing and decreasing on a regular basis. Subsequent governments have issued “Home Warm Discount” and extra financial support towards energy bill, during the Covid 19 pandemic, and the lockdowns, for millions of UK citizens but, all were temporary, and not enough.

·      As of July 2025, household pay an average £1,720 a year on energy bills. There are ten million households live in fuel poverty, in the UK.

Greed and profits

Ofgem, first established to monitor energy prices, is letting costumers down by increasing energy bills 77%, since 2021.

Whilst customers can no longer afford to pay their energy bills, Fuel Poverty Action gives the following figures:

-       “20 energy companies have made over £500 billion since the start of the energy crisis, enough to build more than 1000 hospitals

-       British Gas owner Centrica’s CEO Chris O’Shea DOUBLED his pay in 2024 to a distorted £8.2 million

While millions are suffering as a result of high fees, CEOs enjoy financial success and power.

How is the energy crisis impacted UK citizens?

The most affected by the energy crises and its prices increases are the most vulnerable in our society: the poor, the sick, people with disabilities and the elderly.

Keir Starmer first proposed to cut the Winter Fuel Allowance for all pensioners but now, has decided that only those earning £35000 or less, will be eligible to for the WFA, which is estimated to leave two million pensioners missing out.

Families can no longer keep their houses warm, impacting the health of millions of children. Mould and damp are serious problems impacting over 30 000 children in the UK. All the financial support put in place during the COVID-19, and its subsequent lockdowns, have all been stopped, while energy prices keep going up.

Those suffering with chronic illnesses needs to keep warm and some might be dependent on medical equipment and might need to forgo food to keep alive. They are left is desperate and life threatening situation. In winter 2024, 4 950 individuals died as a results of fuel poverty.

Living in a cold and damp properties and not being able to pay bills has an adverse impact on UK residents ’mental health. Living under duress creates stress and despair for many.

40 000 households have been victims of the forced pre-payment meters installations. In May 2025, £18.6 million in compensation and debt write-offs were announced to all the individuals who were pushed into further debts and despair by this unfair practice, targeting the most vulnerable.

Standing up against justice - Tulsi Sana-Ra’s story:

Moved by a sense of injustice, Tulsi decided, as a protest, to no not pay her energy bills. She makes it clear, she is not unwilling to pay for her energy bills, at the National Grid and UK power networks prices (only costing an average £120 per year, per household) but, refused to pay the current overpriced fees driven by inflation and greed.

“Since 2022, I have been investigating unduly onerous charges for electricity by suppliers, unfair, degrading treatment of vulnerable people from the utilities supplier EDF and trying to expose their often unlawful practices of installing unaffordable pre-payment meters into vulnerable families homes against Ofgem regulations.

I have worked for over 2 years on building a case against EDF for subjecting me personally to Duress, undue influence, onerous charges of electricity, breach of Ofgem regulations, breach of contract, breach of Human Rights (Article 6 and Article 8).

On the 9th of July 2025, I was in the Crown Court at Norwich against EDF in house legal team, (for a mediation hearing.) and invoked a declaration of incompatibility to my human rights against the parliamentary Electricity Act 1989, governing deemed contracts. this is very much a David vs Goliath case, in which I believe I am 1 of the only people in the UK to challenge the legalities in the utilities sector, how they operate, evidence of lying, and generally forcing people to have to make difficult decisions as to whether they can afford to heat or eat.” 

(TAP will update you on Tulsi’s progress with her campaign.)

How to end fuel poverty?

-       Upgrade of UK Housing: building safe, eco friendly and affordable housing, which will be energy efficient.

-       Stop the privatisation and going back to public ownership.

-       Customers only paying for what they use, not an estimate set by greedy distributors and suppliers.

-       Free energy for all.

-       Stop punitive debt collecting systems and forced pre-payment meters installations.

Having enough fuel to keep warm, to eat and to rest is a basic human necessity. It needs to be available to all, without discrimination.

Our Role in Creating Change

We cannot wait for someone else to act. It’s time to demand better for the millions struggling in poverty—and for the millions more living one unexpected expense away from it.

·       Join us in advocating for a compassionate, fairer society. Here’s how you can help:

·       Speak Up: Contact your MP and demand investment in social care, living wages, and affordable housing.

·       Get Involved: Volunteer or donate to organisations like TAP that fight for systemic change.

·       Stay Informed: Follow TAP’s work and share their message to build awareness.

Together, we can create a society where no one is left behind. Let’s make compassion the cornerstone of our nation’s future.

Sylvie Rouhani, Deputy Editor, Taxpayers Against Poverty - August 2025