Energy / Fuel poverty calculation misses wider issue, community councillor says
THE FUEL poverty calculation fails to take into account the “real issue” of energy generation and charging, according a Lerwick community councillor.
Speaking at a meeting of the Lerwick Community Council on Tuesday, Stewart Hay also claimed Scottish Government targets for reducing fuel poverty over the next 15 years are “not very ambitious”.
Under Scottish legislation, a “fuel poor household” is one where more than 10 per cent of net income is required to pay for heating after housing costs have been deducted.
For extreme fuel poverty, this figure rises to 20 per cent.
Figures released by the Scottish Government last year showed that an estimated 31 per cent of Shetland households experience fuel poverty.
The Scottish Government has an aim that by the end of 2040 no more than five per cent of households will be in fuel poverty, and no more than one per cent are in extreme fuel poverty.
These targets must be achieved within each of the 32 local council areas and not just in Scotland as a whole.
“That is not in my view very ambitious,” Hay said.
“And it doesn’t address the factors for fuel poverty.
“Making the analogy between your income and how much it costs to heat your home is a nifty way of avoiding the whole issue of how energy is charged, how energy is generated and how the system operates.”
The discussion was taking place as the Scottish Government consults with community bodies on its work on fuel poverty.
Chairman Jim Anderson made the point of how the cost of energy is based off gas prices.
There is no mains gas in Shetland, which is generally cheaper than electricity or heating oil.
Shetland Islands Council’s (SIC) deputy leader Gary Robinson, who represents Lerwick North and Bressay, added: “Until we actually uncouple electricity from the price of gas we’re going to be stuck with it.”
Anderson added that there is an “inherent disadvantage” for people who do not have access to mains gas.
The issue of fuel poverty has been back in the headlines in recent weeks following the launch of the 103-turbine Viking Energy wind farm in Shetland’s Central Mainland, which can export power to the UK grid through a new subsea cable.
The SIC has long pressed government for the idea of a “Shetland tariff” – cheaper bills for local residents given the isles, which have some of the highest levels of fuel poverty in the country, are a net exporter of energy.
This contrast was raised with Scottish Government top brass this week as the Convention of the Highlands and Islands came to Lerwick for its latest meeting, which was attended by first minister John Swinney.
During a recording of the Holyrood Sources podcast in Lerwick on Tuesday, deputy first minister Kate Forbes – who chaired the convention meeting – described the issue as the “greatest injustice for our islands”.
However, the matter of energy is reserved to Westminster.
“It is an absolute shocker and will be for generations to come, that our islands are responsible for generating such a wealth of power that actually keeps the lights on across the country […] and yet we have pensioners and others in fuel poverty,” Forbes said.
“And sitting alongside that we have comments from Greg Jackson, the chief executive of Octopus Energy, who said that with reform to the energy market you could in Scotland be paying the cheapest prices anywhere in Europe, and indeed might at times pay nothing.
“But that requires reform to energy. And my big hope, which I suspect may be disappointed, is that Labour tackles this head on and really gets to grip with it.”
Forbes said the Labour UK Government’s GB Energy plans “have their place” but added that the project is not about tackling that injustice.
“What we need is a big vision from the UK Government, which the Scottish Government is wiling to support, for complete reform that says this is Scotland’s energy and we will not tolerate anyone in fuel poverty that lives within a metre or a mile of these turbines,” the MSP said.
The Scottish Government said it believes that “everyone should be able to live in a warm and affordable home, and have committed to working with homeowners, landlords and tenants to improve the energy efficiency of their properties”.
The government added: “By using more efficient, low-carbon sources of heating and making sure that buildings are properly insulated, the energy used to heat or cool our homes stays inside.
“This means more comfortable homes and less energy wasted for everyone. We are particularly keen to make sure that people who need their heating most aren’t worried about turning it on because they can’t afford their bills.”
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