Island ‘Off-Gas’ Rural Households Hit By Price Hikes

Thursday, 17 March 2022 11:50

By Dominic Kureen @WriteOnDom

Many rural Isle of Wight households which rely on oil, bottled gas, coal and wood to heat and cook are facing rapidly rising bills, made worse due to the Russian war against Ukraine.

Those alternative fuel sources are not covered by Ofgem's increased price gap and can be more expensive than mains supply.

There are calls on the government to help 14% of UK households who are "off-grid", without access to mains gas, which is generally the cheapest form of heating.

Domestic oil prices have more than doubled in price per litre compared to this time last year. The wholesale price of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) has also doubled and these costs are being passed onto bottled gas customers too.

On the Island some 40% of households are without mains gas, 1,900 of which use oil to heat their homes.

Around 13,000 of Island homes have an energy performance rating of E or worse - A being the highest rating and G the lowest.

Fuel poverty effects between 10-14% of homes on the Isle of Wight, higher in some rural areas, notably South Wight with old poorly insulated housing stock alongside expensive fuels.

The UK has some of the oldest housing stock in Europe, which is often a challenge to bring up to date, in relation to energy efficiency.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (2020) highlighted the issue of rural coastal poverty in their report, identifying the Isle of Wight and Torbay as two of the areas to be economically hit the hardest, post-Covid.

This was without any reference to the unpredictable energy price increases, which have added to the financial burden of low-income households.

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Island ‘Off-Gas’ Rural Households Hit By Price Hikes

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