Shale gas profits should be used to tackle fuel poverty, MPs argue
MPs have blamed poor quality housing for the rising levels of fuel poverty in Britain and called for shale gas profits to be used in order to connect communities to the gas grid and improve overall energy efficiency, a media news report has revealed.
The Brecon & Radnorshire Liberal Democrat MP Roger Williams pointed out that a unit of energy in the UK is “cheap by international standards” but bills are high because “our houses just don’t keep the heat in”.
Improving the housing stock is a monumental challenge, and the MP is more than aware of this situation. He said: “Such is the backlog of this essential work that if 600,000 houses were treated every year then it would take until 2027 to deal with 90% of the homes.”
Another Welsh MP, Anglesey Labour MP Albert Owen, suggested that revenues obtained from shale gas exploitation could be used to extend the gas mains and called for a scrappage scheme to help people install modern boilers, saying: “There is a need to package to help replacement of boilers because modern boilers are hugely efficient.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We are doing all we can within our powers to help people in Wales with their fuel bills as energy prices continue to rise. By the end of March it is projected that our ambitious energy efficiency programme will have helped to reduce energy bills for around 8,000 Welsh households.
“This year alone we are investing £36m to make homes in some of Wales’s poorest communities more energy efficient, alongside an additional capital investment of £70m to tackle fuel poverty over the next two years. We are making these significant investments at a time of budget cuts because we recognise how difficult it is for many households in Wales to pay their heating bills.”
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