How can policy protect fuel poor households from rising energy prices?

Households across Great Britain (GB) are experiencing unprecedented rises in their energy bills, with warnings of a ‘public health emergency’ over fears households will not be able to heat their homes this winter (Bouzarovski, 2022) (1). A wide range of ideas have been proposed to attempt to shield households from rising energy prices. How politicians choose to respond will have big implications for people’s ability to afford essentials and pay their bills. The sheer scale of price rises means that only substantial and ambitious action will be enough, but well-designed policies can help avoid a humanitarian crisis and save lives. In this briefing, we summarise the current policy response. We then evaluate a wide range of alternative strategies that could be more effective - including recent proposals (a social tariff; Universal Basic Energy; energy market reform and nationalisation; energy advice services) and long-term solutions (energy efficiency; low-carbon heating; renewable energy).