How the Budget will impact on ... power

Mar 13 2008 by Aaron Boland, Liverpool Daily Post

FUEL poverty campaigners challenged the Government to set out how it would enforce a Budget warning to energy firms to do more to help vulnerable customers cope with rising costs.

Chancellor Alistair Darling said he wanted to see firms offer a fairer deal to millions of households on pre-payment meters, and treble spending on social tariffs to £150m a year.

Major increases in bills are estimated to have plunged 4.5m people into fuel poverty, yet only one in 10 benefits from social tariffs.

And pre-payment prices, paid by many of the less-well off customers, have risen twice as fast as those available to people able to pay by direct debit.

Mr Darling told MPs in his annual statement: We want to see the 5m customers on pre-payment meters given a fairer deal, and energy companies to increase their support to vulnerable customers.

We will work with the companies to take further action on a voluntary and statutory basis, to underpin this as necessary we will legislate.

Independent gas and electricity watchdog Energywatch welcomed the commitment but called for concrete plans for meeting it to be set out.

Campaigns director Adam Scorer said: Identifying the targets is important, but to equip Britain for the times ahead requires a coherent strategy and determined action.