Fuel Poverty Action's Energy Bill Of Rights

EDM number 395 in 2014-15, proposed by Caroline Lucas on 23/10/2014.
Categorised under the topics of Energy and Fuel poverty.

That this House welcomes the Energy Bill of Rights put forward by Fuel Poverty Action as people-centred proposals to end the scandal of fuel poverty; endorses the campaign for a right to affordable energy to meet basic needs, a right to community and publicly-owned energy generation, a right to energy that does not threaten the climate, water, air or the local environment, and a right to properly insulated, well-repaired housing; believes that these are reasonable, achievable goals offering a clear alternative to centralised profit-driven energy policy; welcomes in particular the proposed right not to be forced to have a pre-payment meter, which often leave vulnerable people in the cold and dark; further welcomes the demand for a fair energy pricing system without standing charges, which can hit the poorest hardest by imposing an unfair burden on people who use less energy to save money and cut carbon emissions; calls on the Government to recognise that, this autumn, many constituents are turning on heating for the first time and finding that, before they can access any gas, they must start paying huge arrears that built up over the summer while they were not using heating; and urges Ministers to consider the Energy Bill of Rights as part of a radically more ambitious approach to tackling fuel poverty and transforming our energy system in the public interest.

This motion has been signed by a total of 81 MPs.