Scottish Pensioners on the front line of energy price cap hike
Pensioners and families across Scotland will feel the full force of the UK’s broken energy system following the price cap rise, says Scottish Greens energy spokesperson Patrick Harvie MSP
The UK’s energy regulator Ofgem announced that, from today, the typical annual household bill will go up from £1,568 to £1,717, a rise of £149, or 10%.
This price hike comes after the Labour government chose to cut the crucial Winter Fuel Payment, which helped many pensioners pay heating bills during winter, forcing many many older people to choose between heating their home and eating this winter.
Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie MSP said: “This price hike will be yet another blow for households and families across Scotland. It will be made even worse by the brutal cut of the Winter Fuel Payment which will plunge vulnerable people into fuel poverty.
“Labour promised to make energy bills cheaper, yet they are offering little more than warm words at a time when households and families are already feeling a huge strain.
“Scotland is an energy-rich nation, with a vast majority of our electricity regularly being produced by cheap, green renewable sources, we don’t have to stick with a broken energy system that is based on ensuring obscene fossil fuel profits.
“We need radical and urgent reform of our energy markets if we are to break the link between sky high gas prices and electricity bills. Renewable energy has helped cut the cost of generating electricity, but this isn’t being reflected in household bills.
“This is one of the wealthiest societies in the history of the world, nobody should be forced to choose between freezing and starving.
“Many families don’t have time to waste, they need action now to cut their bills. Labour needs to act to reduce our reliance on global gas prices and reintroduce the full winter fuel payment for good.”