Shropshire households have installed massively more cavity wall and loft insulation than the average for England, and are above the average take up for self- generation of electricity; but they are still using 13.5% more electricity and 4.5% less gas than the average – which means they are paying more – and the number of households officially in fuel poverty (with more than 10% of their income going on fuel) is a staggering 21,970 against a national average of 7,460 per local authority.
The DECC have published an interactive map enabling everyone to check their own Authority’s performance against the average. What it seems to show is that whilst Shropshire people are really making an effort to improve their energy efficiency and reduce their heating bills in particular, the lack of mains gas and large number of houses without cavity walls – and possibly the large number of people with cavity walls but still without insulation – means that we are right up there towards the top of the Fuel Poverty league.
So Shropshire, there’s still a long way to go…and given that the CERT funding for low-cost insulation will be ending soon, it looks like many Shropshire lads and ladies will be missing the boat. Still, things could be worse; we could be living in Herefordshire, which has an even higher proportion of households in Fuel Poverty…
One Comment
These DECC figures are encouraging. I wonder what they would have been without the efforts of such community groups as Household Energy Services in Bishops Castle, Stretton Climate Care and the other groups across the county who are striving to make their communities more energy aware. PROGRESS but there is still a long way to go.