Clackmannanshire Council Online

Fuel Poverty

Fuel Poverty

A household is defined as being in fuel poverty if in order to maintain an acceptably warm home it would need to spend more than 10% of its income on household fuel use.

Extreme fuel poverty is the same, but with a household spending more than 20% of income.

Our Home Energy Advice team can help households in fuel poverty in a number of ways including:

• ensuring households maximise income
• clearing or reducing fuel debt
• reducing energy debt repayments (for debt that remains)
• helping vulnerable households apply for the Warm Home Discount
• giving advice on improving the energy efficiency of homes
• analysing household energy usages
• providing tailored energy saving tips so households avoid wasteful energy use
• assisting households to switch to cheaper energy deals

Statistics and trends

Fuel poverty statistics are published by the Scottish Government in the Scottish House Condition Survey. 

• Households in fuel poverty in Clackmannanshire (2016–18) = 27%, ie just over 6,000 households. (This compares with 25.0% for Scotland as a whole in 2018).
• Of these, households in extreme fuel poverty in Clackmannanshire (2016–18) = 11%, ie just under 3,000 households. (This compares with 11.3% for Scotland as a whole in 2018).
• The above figures equate to 1 in 4 local households being fuel poor
  • two fifths of single pensioner households
  • one fifth of owner occupiers
  • two fifths of social housing tenants who have a long term illness or disability
  • one fifth of children

Factors     

Three main factors interact to determine how easily a household can afford energy bills:  

• the household income;  
• the energy efficiency of the home; and
• the price of domestic fuel, especially electricity and gas.  

Clearly, households with low incomes and living in housing which is energy inefficient will particularly struggle to afford high electricity and gas prices.     

More on fuel poverty

Energy Action Scotland (EAS) campaigns for an end to fuel poverty in Scotland. Their website, which contains up to date research.