Energy discounts are a sticking plaster – here's a long-term solution to soaring household bills

The energy crisis is biting hard. Average gas and electricity bills in the UK will rise by 54% on April 1 2022 when the regulator Ofgem lifts its price cap. This is an increase of roughly £700 a year (US$950). According to the charity National Energy Action another two million UK households could be plunged into fuel poverty by then, bringing the total to six million by the end of the year. Shockingly, that would mean more than a fifth of homes having to choose between heating or eating.

The rise in wholesale fossil fuel prices accounts for almost £500 of the rise in household bills, with the remainder due to bill payers covering the cost of failed energy suppliers. UK households are uniquely susceptible to these spikes because they inhabit some of the least energy efficient houses in western Europe.

An obvious way to offset the impact of wholesale energy price rises is to improve the efficiency of housing stock, to deliver the same comfort using less energy. But a nationwide efficiency drive does not appear to be at the top of the UK government’s list of proposed solutions to tackle the energy crisis.