Annual household fuel poverty levels remain stable

The Government’s Annual Fuel poverty statistics for 2023 has indicated that there were an estimated 13 per cent of households (3.17 million) in fuel poverty in England under the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric, effectively unchanged from 13.1 per cent in 2022 (3.18 million)

The aggregate fuel poverty gap for England in 2023 was estimated at £1.32 billion under the LILEE metric, up by 20 per cent since 2022 (£1.11 billion) in real terms. The average fuel poverty gap for England in 2023 (the reduction in fuel costs needed for a household to not be in fuel poverty) was estimated at £417, up by 20 per cent since 2022 (£348).

Commenting on the data., Richard Neudegg, Director of Regulation at Uswitch.com, said “Widespread government energy bill support in recent years has helped ensure that the proportion of households in fuel poverty has not increased despite sky-high energy prices.

“Although the proportion of those in fuel poverty has not increased, the depth of fuel poverty felt by those three million households is very concerning, increasing by 66% between 2020 and 2023. It would take an average of £417 for these households to come out of fuel poverty.

“To address the problem of the most vulnerable households suffering fuel poverty, deep and targeted support will be needed to address the otherwise growing fuel poverty gap.

“Many households continue to struggle with energy bills, even those not in fuel poverty, as costs are higher this winter than they were this time last year as there is no bill support in place.Thankfully for these households, there is a glimmer of hope that costs will come down in April, with predictions for the next price cap suggesting it will fall significantly.

“Despite falling prices on the horizon, some households will still feel the pinch, as rates remain higher than they were pre-energy crisis, a situation exacerbated by other cost-of-living pressures.”