‘Perfect storm’ hits council’s tenants amid soaring energy bills with one third of people living in fuel poverty
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Highland Council’s housing committee has spoken about the desperate situation facing many of its tenants as fuel bills soar.
In Highland, and nationally, the recently announced rise in the energy price cap will add up to £700 to annual fuel bills.
Highland Council’s housing policy and investment manager, Brian Cameron, said the council will help as much as it can.
“This will immediately put households into fuel poverty and immediately hit household income,” he said of the rise fue to take effect from April.
In Highland, 33 per cent of people live in fuel poverty – above the national average of 24 per cent. Unfortunately, the council finds itself in a perfect storm, literally and metaphorically.
Recent high winds and plummeting temperatures caused damage to council property and saw tenants struggle to keep their homes warm. At the same time, the pandemic brought heating replacements and insulation projects to a halt until last April.
Many Highland tenants face high fuel bills due to poorly insulated homes and antiquated electric heating systems.
The council is now working its way through a huge backlog of work. The council’s Housing Revenue Account capital report puts the budget slippage at £8.6m. Heating and energy programmes account for £5.5m of that underspend.
Council bosses say the new Omicron variant compounded the problem, putting pressures on the supply chain and contractors. There is a national shortage of meters, air source heat pumps and windows, while the Office of National Statistics say the price of timber has increased by 25 per cent.
Mr Cameron reassured members that all works will be completed, and hopefully acclerated. He added that a huge number of tenants benefited from the government’s fuel support grant.
Councillor Raymond Bremner raised concern about Highland fuel bills during the committee meeting.
Speaking after committee, Mr Bremner said the Highlands faces an “ironic situation”:
“We are a massive producer of renewable energy, yet we have the highest energy consumption prices, one of the coldest climates in the country and a raising of the cap applied to energy companies’ ability to charge consumers,” he said.
Mr Bremner says the issue needs a UK government response, and members have asked the council to write to the energy minister asking him to address it.
