SNP bill urges support for off-gas households in Falkirk

The Energy Pricing bill has been tabled by Scottish MP Drew Hendry and it has the backing of Linlithgow and Falkirk East MP Martyn Day.

Mr Day said: “Currently, one in six UK households aren’t connected to a gas supply.

“These households are forced to pay up to four times more for their energy bills than the “average” household.

“My SNP colleague Drew Hendry MP is aiming to tackle this issue with his Energy Pricing Bill, which if passed would force the UK government to work alongside Ofgem to address the issue head on – something that the Tories have failed to do thus far.”

The issue of high energy bills has been raised by many people in Falkirk who are living in off-gas areas – with many saying that rising costs in recent years mean people are already having to choose between heating and eating.

There have also been cases of people facing bills of £50 per day for electricity.

Presenting the bill, Mr Hendry told parliament that people were being “caught in a price trap that is none of their making and is set to bring additional hardship and misery to people being financially crushed by a cost of living crisis that has been imposed upon them”.

He said: “The current price cap is based on the assumption that households consume energy with a split of 80 per cent gas and 20 per cent electricity.

“However about one in six households are off-gas grid and these households are forced to pay around four times more for their energy bills than the so-called average household.”

Mr Hendry’s bill calls on the government to work with Ofgem to address the issue and urges them to set out a clear timetable to “stop this form of discrimination once and for all”.

In response to the rise in energy bills, the Conservative chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that all households will get a £200 discount on their bills through the Energy Bills Rebate, although this will be repaid over five years.

Households in bands A-D will also get £150 rebate on their council tax.

The bill will have its second reading on March 18.

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.

https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/nord/dm/FKH/V