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The Liberal Democrats argue that the budget should introduce an “energy bailout package” to help rural areas be hit hardest by higher energy prices.
Exclusive Analysis by the Party, Revealed I325,000 households in rural areas are fuel-starved, up 19% from the 2020 total of 51,000, according to the government.
The rural poverty fuel gap has also doubled over the same period, with the amount needed to lift a household out of fuel poverty increased from £501 in 2020 to £956 this year.
The total is now four times the urban fuel poverty gap of £265, up slightly from £193 in 2020.
The Liberal Democrats have called on Prime Minister Jeremy Hunt to provide special support to rural communities, warning that they are now “stranded in the cold”.
They are calling on the government to lower the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), which limits household energy bills from £2,500 to £2,000, which could be financed through a ‘appropriate windfall tax’ on energy companies. .
“Rural communities have been hit hardest by rising energy prices, with too many families struggling to keep their homes warm,” said Tim Fallon, a spokesperson for rural affairs for the Liberal Democrats.
He said households in rural areas often have “poorly insulated homes” and may rely on “expensive forms of heating” such as electric, oil or gasoline powered systems. Emphasis on high
Fallon added: Rishi Sunak’s plans to raise energy prices again in April are completely nonsensical and thousands more risk running out of fuel.
“Governments must drastically cut energy bills and provide additional support to those in the hardest hit rural areas. This includes price caps for kerosene and other off-grid fuels and bill It should include targeted assistance to households struggling to pay for
The current EPG level of £2,500 was brought in by former Prime Minister Liz Truss last October to protect households from rising energy bills brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The billing cap was set to increase to £3,000 per year, I The Prime Minister understands that he is ready to provide support in the hope that wholesale prices will drop sufficiently by the summer that support will be unnecessary.
Without the scheme, a typical household bill would be £4,279 per year at the current price cap set by Ofgem. That cap is expected to drop to £3,280 a year from his April due to the global drop in wholesale energy prices over the past few months.
Then-Prime Minister Sunak announced last April that all households would receive £400 in utility bills.
In addition, means-tested, including £900 for over 8 million eligible beneficiaries, £150 for over 6 million disabled people and £300 for over 8 million pensioners paid through 2023 Ready-made help is also now available. Gasoline costs in winter.
However, many rural households missed out on these payments because they were not claimants or did not deal directly with their energy suppliers.
Last month, a new scheme was launched to give nearly 1 million households unable to claim the electricity rebate access a £400 discount. This includes many people living in holiday parks, houseboats, off-grids, or nursing homes.
We have reached out to the Department of Energy Security and the Ministry of Net Zero for comment.