Ministers want energy firms to do more for fuel poor
27 August 2008
Ministers
want energy firms to do more for fuel poor
Energy companies could be doing more to help people insulate their
homes, ministers are expected to tell gas and electricity
firms.
According to the Independent, the government is resisting calls
backed by 80 Labour MPs for a windfall tax to be levied on record
profits by energy firms and instead favours a voluntary scheme
which would see the companies help people who struggle with paying
their bills.
The big six energy firms are expected to spend £150 million on
programmes to help people in fuel poverty – those who spend a tenth
of their income on heating their home.
However, claims ministers at the Treasury and the Department for
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform want the companies to do
more.
"We are looking for the companies to do more," one government
source told the newspaper.
They are facing pressure from MPs and the public for a windfall
tax, while the Local Government Association (LGA) has called for an
annual levy on energy providers to help people out of fuel
poverty.
The LGA also said that a programme of home insulation was the best
way to combat fuel poverty.
