Fuel poverty in the UK

What is fuel poverty?

In general, fuel poverty relates to households that must spend a high proportion of their household income to keep their home at a reasonable temperature. Fuel poverty is affected by three key factors: a household’s income, their fuel costs, and their energy consumption (which in turn can be affected by the energy efficiency of the dwelling).

Rapid increases in energy prices in late 2021 and 2022 led to higher energy debt, more customers on prepayment meters ‘self-disconnecting’ and others having to drastically cut their energy usage. This, along with wider cost of living pressures, led to heightened concerns about the extent and severity of fuel poverty and its impact on people. Energy prices have fallen somewhat since this ‘energy crisis’ but remain well above earlier levels.

Fuel poverty is a devolved policy area and is defined and measured differently in different parts of the UK.

How does fuel poverty vary across the UK?

To date only the official estimates for England and Scotland reflect the period of rapid energy price rises during the ‘energy crisis’. Estimates for Wales and Northern Ireland have not yet been published for 2022 or later years.

The impact of these rising prices on fuel poverty estimates differs between England and Scotland due to the different definitions they use .

In England the definition of fuel poverty is focused on energy efficiency ratings and income, and so fuel poverty estimates showed no real change in 2021 or 2022 and modest falls in 2023 and 2024. This is in stark contrast to estimates published by charities working in the sector which show large increases in 2022 and 2023.

There was a substantial increase in estimated fuel poverty in Scotland between 2019 and 2023. This was because the definition used in Scotland is sensitive to changes in fuel prices.

Fuel poverty rates vary across the nations of the UK and cannot be directly compared due to differences in methodology. In the latest estimates, around 11% of households in England were classed as fuel poor, 34% in Scotland, 14% in Wales, and 24% in Northern Ireland. In all nations, fuel poverty rates have were relatively stable in the years just before the energy crisis (though a lack of data in some areas makes identifying trends challenging). The dottted lines on the graphs below show estimated projections, and the broken line on the graph for Scotland is due to the change in definition of fuel poverty.

Sources: DESNZ, Fuel poverty trends 2025; Scottish Government, Scottish House Condition Survey: 2023 Key Findings (Section 3 Fuel Poverty) and earlier editions; Welsh Government, Fuel poverty modelled estimates for Wales: as at October 2021; NI Housing Executive Estimates of fuel poverty in Northern Ireland in 2019 (and earlier)

Fuel poverty in England

Fuel poverty data is more detailed and up to date for England than for the rest of the UK. The definition in England has also changed in ways which have a substantial impact on fuel poverty levels and trends. Therefore, this paper includes more analysis on fuel poverty and how it is measured in England.

In England, unlike in the rest of the UK, only those households in homes with lower energy efficiency (bands D-G) who fall below the poverty line after energy costs are considered to be in fuel poverty. In 2024 3.1 million households in England were in the lowest two income deciles (10% groups), but were not deemed to be in fuel poverty because their property had a rating of C or better.

The definition in England also means that direct energy rebates, such as the Warm Home Discount, are treated as if they improved the energy efficiency of a dwelling. This reduces the numbers deemed to be in fuel poverty. However, the Warm Home Discount in reality has no impact on improving energy efficiency, and therefore does not help deliver the policy aims that energy efficiency support can achieve, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cutting reliance on fossil fuel imports and providing green jobs.

The aggregate fuel poverty gap in England (the total reduction in energy costs needed to take all fuel poor households out of fuel poverty) is a measure that is more sensitive to fuel prices. It increased by an estimated 47% between 2020 and 2023, before falling by 7% in 2024. The extent of fuel poverty (the number of fuel poor households under the official definition) did not increase during the energy crisis, but the depth of their fuel poverty did.

The definition of fuel poverty in England has been described as a “blunt instrument” which leads to “leads to an overly skewed policy focus”. The Committee on Fuel Poverty have said it “should be reviewed as it no longer captures the full range of households facing unaffordable bills”.

The charity National Energy Action (NEA) has estimated that 4.5 million households were in fuel poverty in the UK in October 2025. This figure is two-thirds higher than official estimate for England alone. NEA define a houshold as fuel poor if it needs to spend more than 10% of its income on energy to provide a satisfctory heating regime.

The government has estimated that 9.0 million households in England could be classed as fuel poor in 2024 using a version of this 10% defintion; almost double its level in 2021. This estimate includes the impact of the diffferent support schemes introduced by the government during the energy crisis to help make bills more affordable and targeted cost of living payments in 2022/23 and 2023/24.

What is being done to address fuel poverty?

There are both national and devolved policies for addressing the drivers of fuel poverty. Fuel poverty can be alleviated by improving a households income (and their ability to pay bills), reducing their fuel costs, and reducing their energy consumption (by improving energy efficiency).

• To improve a households ability to pay, there are payments and discounts available to certain eligible customers including the Winter Fuel Payment, Warm Homes Discount, and Cold Weather payments, designed to help potentially vulnerable customers with their bills. More inforamtion is available in the Library briefing paper on Help with Energy Bills.
• There is also an energy price cap which protects customers on variable tariffs from overcharging. More information is available in the Library briefing paper Domestic energy prices.
• To improve the energy efficieny of a household there are schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation, Warm Homes Grant, and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. More inforamtion is available in the Library briefing paper on Help with energy efficiency, heating and renewable energy in homes.
• During the energy crisis the government introduced several measures to support households with rising bills (for example in 2022 the governmentannounced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills). However these have now all closed. The Library briefing papers Gas and electricity prices during the ‘energy crisis’ and beyond and Domestic energy prices looks at how and why energy prices have changed.

The Library briefing papers Gas and electricity prices during the ‘energy crisis’ and beyond and Domestic energy prices looks at how and why energy prices have changed. 

Suggestions for other measures

Several stakeholders have recommended that Governments do more on fuel povety, pointing to wider potential benefits such as for health from avoiding cold homes, and decarbonisation from more energy efficient homes.

New Fuel Poverty Strategies have been published in Wales and England in 2021. Scotland has published a draft new fuel poverty strategy with the final strategy expected, and Northern Ireland is also expected to update its strategy.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused widespread financial hardship. Many consumer groups argue that the pandemic has worsened fuel poverty and more needs to be done. Various policies from the UK and devolved Government have intended to help households financially through the pandemic, including with specific support for energy bills.