Environmental legislation 'will not help fuel poor'

The government's planned changes to environmental legislation to ration energy use in the UK will not help those who are fuel poor, an expert has said.

Maria Wardrobe, director of communications at National Energy Action, has stated that the newly-proposed Tradable Energy Quotas (TEQs), which will see energy rations being given out, will have an impact on vulnerable households the most.

Last week, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil and the Lean Economy Connection released details of the TEQs, stipulating that people will be able to buy more fuel credits should they require more energy.

Alternatively, energy users can sell a portion of their ration for financial gain.

Ms Wardrobe stated that this is not "fair" as fuel-poor households could be tempted to use less energy in order to benefit from this, "risking their health" in the process.

She also noted that people with a lower income will have less of an opportunity to improve energy-saving measures in their homes, so they will end up paying more for fuel than other families if the environmental legislation changes go ahead.

Posted by Lauren Steadman