So there are potentially some good things coming down the road.

But there are no real firm decisions or guarantees in this package, apart from one - that standing charges will not be reducing from April.

The status quo remains for now.

Lastly - 'preventing debt'

In reality, this will rely on additional energy bill support from Government. But as they have consistently said in the past, Ofgem remains committed to working with UK Government to achieve this.

The second - 'raising debt standards'

This includes a 'debt guarantee' to ensure better outcomes from suppliers when customers go into debt.

Again, this is a positive move if it comes to pass.

The first - 'ressetting the debt' by providing a £0.5bn - £1bn debt write off scheme. This will help households out of debt, and have a material impact on peoples lives.

We've been calling for it for some time, and I'm pleased that Ofgem are progressing it (pending consultation)

Beyond standing charges, Ofgem are looking at addressing debt in the market. There are three key pieces of work, each of which is very positive.

This could be good.

But no decisions have been taken yet. No real detail has been shared. And there can be no guarantee that it will come to pass.

I'm looking forward to seeing the detail, but we have to wait for this.

Ofgem do not stop there though. They say they will consult in early 2025 on a zero standing charge option within the price cap, alongside the existing tariff.

If all went to plan, this would be available next winter.

This means that standing charges will continue to have a negative impact for millions - and perhaps most egregiously for prepay customers.

While we, and others, made proposals to reduce the impact of standing charges for prepay users, there is no action to help them.

I think its best to start with the firm decisions that have been made.

Ofgem had previously proposed to reduce standing charges by £20 - £80 in April.

The decision is not to do this.

The status quo is unchanged.

Lots to unpack here. Lets give it a go.

🧵

And that’s before you consider the moral obligation to ensure everyone can be warm at home, and the legal imperative to meet the fuel poverty target.

This underlines how politically critical it is to make a success of the warm homes plan and to introduce deeper price protections for those with low incomes.

On @looknorthbbc.bsky.social is our Head of Policy @mattcopeland.bsky.social, discussing the need to regulate district heating networks.
He says: 'Changes are coming next year and must prioritise protections on affordability and debt.'

Speaking of which, here I am speaking at the Excellent Net Zero North East England Summit.

#FuelPovertyAwarenessDay

Today is national #fuelpovertyawarenessday, a moment to pause and consider the impacts of fuel poverty in the UK. 6.7 million UK households, or 23%, spend more than 10% of their income after housing costs on energy.

I'll be speaking at the Net Zero North East England Summit later today about fuel poverty and net zero.

Hoping to see you there.

I might just mention #FuelPovertyAwarenessDay

On the policy side, the new UK Government made big promises in its manifesto. £13bn for a Warm Homes Plan. Slashing fuel poverty.

We've had a down payment on this. We've been told to expect more. We will hold them to that.

Organisations across the UK are doing an unbelievable job at keeping people warm at home.

At @NEA_UKCharity alone we provided millions of support to fuel poor households.

We are not alone in this. These efforts are replicated across charities, community groups, and businesses.

At current progress, we won't meet this target. In fact, millions of low income households will be missed.

But today is #FuelPovertyAwarenessDay and so I will end with some hope.

Improving energy efficiency is the best, lasting route out of fuel poverty. An energy efficient home is far more likely to be a warm one.

In England, there is a legal obligation for all low income households to reach an energy efficiency rating of EPC C by 2030.

Fuel poverty is not just about energy prices, its about incomes and energy efficiency.

The most recent statistics show that 11.4m people are living in relative poverty in the UK. And the trend has was upwards.

For our client group, financial resilience has pretty much gone.

They do not have the savings to lean on in times of desperation. This means that millions are vulnerable to going under if they face a financial shock.

Ongoing high prices are compounded by energy debt. £3.7bn is now owed to suppliers by domestic customers.
Put simply, households couldn't afford to pay their bills at the peak of the crisis. They built up debt. Now they need to pay for today's energy, as well as yesterday's

Since last year, energy prices have dipped a little. But affordability is still a challenge for millions.

Even over the summer, we found that households were rationing their energy. 23% of GB adults said that were having cold meals rather than use the oven over summer.

So inspiring to see such a range of organisations posting about #FuelPovertyAwarenessDay. Always a show of strength in the movement. So many working so hard to keep people warm at home.

Much has happened since the last awareness day. Here are my reflections on the last year: