Cost of living: Rural communities without access to mains gas face ‘a tsunami of poverty’, charity warns
The first of two articles about the impact of rising energy costs on rural areas specifically. Less you thought rural areas were ostensibly affluent!
There’s a warning that “a tsunami of poverty” will hit rural communities if more help isn’t provided to the 14% of British households living without access to mains gas.
Many homes in the countryside which rely on oil, bottled gas, coal and wood to heat and cook are facing rapidly rising bills, made worse due to the volatility caused by the war in Ukraine.
Those alternative fuel sources are not covered by Ofgem’s increased price gap coming into force next month and are often far more expensive than mains supply.
SNP MP Drew Hendry has tabled the Energy Pricing (Off Gas Grid Households) Private Members Bill in parliament to try to provide extra help and protection for households which are off-grid.
He told the Commons last month that those households are forced to pay about four times more for their energy bills than the average home.
The problem mainly affects rural parts of the UK, where mains gas pipes do not reach.
In Cornwall, 47% of homes are off the gas grid.