Press Release – Page 2 – Fuel Poverty Action

11th November 2016

PRESS RELEASE: Fuel poverty campaigners ridicule little CMA cap on prepayment meter tariffs

11^th November 2016

A dozen campaigners today delivered a response to the Competition and Market Authority’s proposals to cap the extra cost paid for energy by users of prepayment meters. They came from Fuel Poverty Action, National Right to Fuel Campaign, Unison, and the All African Women’s Group, and included pensioners, teachers, and asylum seekers. They wielded placards proclaiming “Your cap doesn’t fit”, “Higher Tariffs = Discrimination” and “Cold Homes Kill”.ⁱ

Prepayment meter users pay on average £300 more than customers on direct debit. The CMA propose to decrease this difference by just £75. In their response, Fuel Poverty Action demanded parity, a position which has been endorsed by a series of other organisations.ⁱⁱ FPA handed in the response in the lobby of Victoria House, in a tiny doll’s cap, to highlight the insult of the CMA’s insufficient proposal.

Passing on the cap containing a scroll with the response, Ruth London of FPA told Project Director Erika Lewis, “Energy companies’ license conditions forbid discrimination against users of PPMs, the CMA’s own Roger Witcombe has declared, ‘It is unacceptable that 4 million households on prepayment meters, many of them vulnerable, face higher bills than other energy customers,’ and yet the CMA’s proposals will perpetuate this injustice.” Erika Lewis, for the CMA, agreed that the proposals are not set in stone and promised that they would take seriously the evidence provided.

Given the rife exploitation of customers by the energy industry, Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy secretary Greg Clark has promised to “deal with this problem”. Fuel Poverty Action are therefore today sending a letter to both Greg Clark and Theresa May to ask whether they genuinely intend to challenge an industry that has had a free pass for so long, or will they bring in measures like the CMA’s cap, that sound good on paper, but in practice leave us in the cold.

Case Study

As well as costing more, PPMs are often forced on people, sometimes by break-ins to their homes. One such case is that of Josh Hull of Windsor who came home to find his front door lock broken – hea thought he had been burgled. He then found his payments debited for a previous tenant’s debt – a common problem – and is unable to use his electricity. Aside from the cost, he says the anxiety and sleepless nights are draining, and have harmed his performance in a new job. He is ready to speak to the media.

[i] Pictures available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B0qHcBpAhFaCVUQtcWwxS0RiYkk?usp=sharing

[ii] See our response on our website for the full list of endorsements: https://www.fuelpovertyaction.org.uk/campaigns/no-minor-cap-on-prepayment-meters-parity-now/

Email: [email protected]

Website: fuelpovertyaction.org.uk

Phone: 07751 748 026

Twitter: @fuelpovaction

22nd March 2016

PRESS RELEASE: Campaigners against fuel poverty take action in Brixton Library

At 11am on Saturday local activists gathered at Brixton Reference Library to protest fuel poverty with a “Warm-Up”. After handing out leaflets and chanting slogans like “Warm homes are a right, Here to stay, Here to fight” in Windrush Square, they moved into the library and occupied the foyer for an hour. They sought to highlight that Lambeths’ libraries are a lifeline for many people, providing warmth, community, and access to vital services, and yet they’re threatened with closure. This will only exacerbate deaths from fuel poverty, which hit 43000 in the winter of 14/15, whilst the Big Six rip off the public by £1.7 billion a year. The action was called and organised by Fuel Poverty Action (FPA), Lambeth Pensioners Action Group (LAMPAG), Lambeth Older Peoples Alliance (LOPA) and Myatts Field South Tenants and Residents Association (MFS TRA).
Continue reading “PRESS RELEASE: Campaigners against fuel poverty take action in Brixton Library”

21st February 2015

Fuel Poverty Action February News

Fuel Poverty Action pay a visit to Ofgem

Winter is always a busy time of year for Fuel Poverty Action. This February has been particularly hectic. Here’s a brief look at some of the things we’ve been up to and how you can get involved.
In the same week that it was announced that 3,000 people could die that week from cold homes, so-called energy regulator Ofgem suggested that people take packed lunches into work so as to save money to pay their rip-off energy bills. In a couple of hours we organised a pack-lunch protest to express our outrage that Ofgem is more interested in regulating our lunches than the Big Six energy companies. See coverage of our action on Russia Today and by Global Justice Now.
There was also action on fuel poverty in Kirklees that week with a ‘warm up theatre stunt’ in Huddersfield where they also handed out copies of our Energy Bill of Rights.
This month we’ve got two new blog posts on our website looking at some of the support and solidarity work that we do with people directly affected by fuel poverty. One is from an English for Speakers of Other Languages teacher at Tower Hamlets college describing how she is covering fuel poverty in her classes. Our second blog post is a victory we have helped secure on behalf of a pensioner couple being harrassed for years by Britsh Gas. This victory shows that we can have concrete and significant wins when we help each other out. If you’d like to get involved in supporting each other in taking on the Big Six energy companies and dodgy landlords who leave us to freeze, get in touch and visit our resources page here.
Thanks to the latest groups to sign up to our Energy Bill of Rights, including our first union – BECTU! Read our Energy Bill of Rights here and take a look at the impressive and diverse list of groups who support it.
Upcoming actions
This week is the Radical Housing Network week of action culminating with a mass action to Block the Budget on Monday 23^rd February. There have been loads of actions happening across London organised by local housing action groups – it’s difficult to keep a track of, but the RHN are attempting to here. We’re organising a ‘warm homes bloc’ on the main action on Monday. Join us there to demand warm, healthy, secure homes for all!
Wednesday 25^th February is a day of Britain wide solidarity with Tony Cox, an unemployed activist arrested by the police for supporting a fellow claimant at the Job Centre. We’re supporting the statement written by our friends Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty and the Scottish Unemployed Workers Network. When dealing with the Job Centres, housing offices and the Big Six energy companies they want us isolated, alone and scared – they know that when we help each other, we can win!
Have we missed anything?! Let us know what action against fuel poverty you’re planning!