Urgent new measures are needed to help families and pensioners across Norwich who are facing soaring energy bills and are struggling to make ends meet, according to the Conservatives’ Parliamentary spokesman for Norwich South.Antony Little, who is also Conservative group leader at City Hall, made his comments after reports showed that the average gas and electricity bill in East Anglia has now soared to £1,273 a year, despite the fact that crude oil is significantly cheaper than it was only a few months ago.
According to Age Concern, one in five families are now estimated to live in fuel poverty, there are more winter deaths in Britain than in colder European countries’ such as Finland’ Denmark and Austria.
Cllr Little said that the Conservatives had launched a series of proposals to tackle fuel poverty, which would cut the fuel bills of the poorest households by introducing tough new rules that make it illegal for energy companies to charge over the odds on pre-payment meters.
He said: “With gas and electricity bills at record highs, families across Norwich face their toughest winter for years. Without immediate help, many will have to choose between staying warm and going into debt.
“It is completely unacceptable that the most vulnerable people on pre-payment meters should be targeted by the energy companies to pay more than their fair share. That should be banned at once.
“Every customer should have the right to be told what the cheapest tariff is, instead of paying more because they are baffled by the complexity of what energy companies offer.
“The Government must end its dithering and act immediately to save the poorest from spending this winter worrying whether they can afford to keep warm.”
