Our partner Fuel Poverty Action take over the Warm This Winter blog to talk about their upcoming plans, and how you can get involved! Read on...
At Fuel Poverty Action (FPA) we have been campaigning for years to protect people from fuel poverty. Alongside pensioners' groups, disabled campaigners, tenants’ organisations and others on the frontline of fuel poverty, we use protest and direct action to fight for real solutions to the cold homes crisis, and to ensure the UK meets its climate obligations.
We want to see the UK’s energy system decarbonised as rapidly as possible with a just transition for communities and workers. Far from making us poorer, the transition away from fossil fuels will bring us more affordable energy, better housing, cleaner air, and will help keep down the cost of food by helping to tackle climate change, which is already causing flooding and extreme weather in the UK and across the world.
Energy is a human right and we need a world where these rights are respected and don’t cost us the earth. It’s not a choice between meeting people’s needs and saving the planet; it’s a choice of doing both or continuing to feed the massive profits of the fossil fuel industry, energy sector and bad housing developers.
But the current energy system punishes the poor, our health and the planet. Over the past two years, we’ve seen record profits for energy companies and a record number of people disconnected from their supply.
Energy bills remain at double their historic rate this winter, this government’s negligence is costing lives once again. People will be left without adequate heating and other essentials like light, hot water, cooking facilities and medical and mobility aids.
This winter, we are leading a nationwide mobilisation, alongside trade unionists, tenants groups, environmental campaigners, and more, to demand energy justice. Find out how you can get involved below.
Prepayment meters are the leading cause of people being disconnected from their energy supply in the UK. It’s an expensive and demanding way to maintain power in your home. Yet energy companies saw fit to break into homes and force people with disabilities, health conditions and young children onto PPMs.
Our actions last year helped to win a suspension of this practice, but now the government is lifting it at the worst possible time. We need to #BanForcedPPMs.
Take part in the digital day of action against fuel poverty, Friday 3rd November.
Glasgow - Join a vigil for winter deaths and march against Ofgem on Saturday 4th November. Gather in George Square at 5pm, finishing 6pm on Albion Street.
London - On November 8th, a committee is meeting to discuss the return of forced PPMs. Gather at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, 3 Whitehall Place at 12 Midday.
Our 'Energy for All' manifesto would give every household the essential energy they need to stay safe and well, for free.
The UK is a wealthy nation, but millions are suffering from fuel starvation and forced to live in cold damp homes. Existing support is clearly inadequate and being further reduced. We need a real safety net that people don’t fall through. And pricing that is not upside-down, with poorer people forced to pay more per unit than the wealthy.
The money needed to give us all energy security can come from the grotesque profits being made by fossil fuel companies enjoying artificially inflated prices. And from higher tariffs for extravagant, wasteful use of energy. Our government is subsidising fossil fuels with millions of pounds every day. We started the Energy For All campaign to end these injustices for good.
For over a decade, FPA has used ‘warm ups’ as an effective method of protest to highlight fuel poverty. The principle is that if you can't keep warm at home, you have the right to enter any public space and keep warm there. Such actions have been carried out in locations ranging from the House of Commons lobby, to energy company HQs, museums and shopping centres.
Last year, we held #WarmUp protests all around the country demanding Energy For All; the Energy Pricing Revolution for a cheaper, greener and fairer energy system to meet people’s needs. We need to push for radical reform of the energy market, as well as concrete changes that can be made today like abolishing standing charges.
We’ll #WarmUp all around the country on December 1st and 2nd to show this government we won’t accept our poverty as the new normal. We all deserve to have our needs met and hope for the future.
Use our guide to get started or join an upcoming warm up training on 7th November and 21st November.
