On Wednesday 4th June, our Head of Policy, Maria Booker, gave oral evidence to the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee’s inquiry on the cost of energy.
This was the first session in the committee’s inquiry. Maria spoke alongside colleagues from partner organisations: Caroline Abrahams (Charity Director at Age UK) and Matt Copeland (Head of Policy and Public Affairs at National Energy Action).
You can watch Maria’s contributions below.
Maria began the session by reading out testimony from our lived experience panel highlighting the issues high energy prices have left them with.
Throughout the session a key theme raised by MPs and experts was the introduction of an energy social tariff. Maria outlined our position, stressing that any such tariff must:
- Automatically enrol eligible households;
- Go beyond those on means-tested benefits to include people on non-means-tested disability benefits and those on low incomes who are struggling to afford energy;
- Be set at a level that represents a significant discount on the market rate;
- Ensure people on low incomes are not penalised for how they pay for their energy or where they live;
- Be mandatory for all energy suppliers;
- Avoid a steep cliff edge for those who narrowly miss out.
Maria also talked about the Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme — a policy we have long supported, but which is currently not offering sufficient help to consumers. As it stands, the WHD is not reaching the people it needs and has not increased in line with the cost of energy. Less than half of households in fuel poverty (spending more than 10% of their after-housing cost income on energy) are eligible for the newly expanded WHD, according to Government figures.
The WHD has only increased by just £30 over the past 14 years — to £150 today — while energy bills have more than doubled.
You can watch back the full session and find out more about the inquiry on the Committee’s website.
