National Energy Action published its Impact Report for April 2021 to March 2022 on 13 July 2022, covering the charity's work over the year and setting out the scale of fuel poverty it recorded at the end of that period1.
The report states that after the 1 April price cap rise, over 6.5mn UK households were in fuel poverty1. It also states that the cost of heating an average home with gas has doubled in 18 months1. The charity's chief executive, Adam Scorer, said the 1 October price cap rise later in 2022 was "going to see worse still to come as this number rises further"1.
The report describes the year as one of the charity's most challenging, with the effects of the energy crisis affecting millions1. It sets out the charity's mission and its account of what drives the problem:
"National Energy Action's mission is that 'everyone should be able to afford to keep their homes warm and safe'. The combination of low incomes, high bills and inefficient housing conspire to make millions of homes places of misery and despair rather than comfort and happiness."
Scorer said the year had "exposed millions more households to the awful experience of living with fuel poverty" while also raising the urgency of the issue with policy makers1. He added that under these conditions "there is no silver bullet and no one organisation can do everything"1.
The report does not give a regional or national breakdown of the 6.5mn figure, and no separate estimate for England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland appears in the published material1. The report also does not set out projected fuel poverty numbers for the period after the 1 October price cap rise; it states only that the number is expected to rise further1.
Why it matters for households
Fuel poverty is usually measured by the relationship between a household's income and the cost of keeping its home adequately warm, and the report's 6.5mn figure is a UK-wide count taken after the April 2022 cap change1. For a household, the practical meaning of that count is that a large number of homes were already spending a high share of income on energy before the next cap change took effect. The report's statement that gas heating costs doubled in 18 months points to how quickly the cost of running an existing heating system can change without any alteration to the home itself1. That distinction matters for energy independence at home: the report identifies low incomes, high bills and inefficient housing as the combined drivers, which places the fabric of the home and its heating system alongside price and income as factors in the outcome1. The report does not assess how much of the pressure on households could be offset by measures such as insulation or heating controls, and no such figures are given1.
What happens next
The report points to the 1 October price cap rise later in 2022, stating that the number of households in fuel poverty will rise further as a result1. No figure for that expected increase is given in the published material1.