Fuel Poverty Action

Photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/70150038@N04/
Today, fifty protesters staged a ‘die-in’ protest at the head office of EDF, one of the ‘Big Six’ energy companies – protesters claim that the government and Big Six energy companies share responsibility for thousands of deaths caused by fuel poverty.

The protest was a response to new figures released by the Office for National Statistics this morning, which reveal that there were 25,700 excess winter deaths last winter in comparison to other seasons. Many of these deaths were due to the fact that people could not afford to heat their homes. Protesters claimed that the government was letting energy companies profit whilst leaving people to die in the cold.
The protesters carried a coffin, marked with the number of excess winter deaths, in a funeral procession from Parliament Square to the head office of EDF and ‘died’ on the ground outside wrapped in blankets and clutching hot water bottles under a banner reading, “Warmth to meet our needs, not for corporate greed”.
Samia Mitchell, a member of Fuel Poverty Action, said:
“Government and business are putting profits first and peoples’ lives second in deciding who gets to keep warm this winter. By continuing to support unsustainable fossil fuels over sustainable renewables, cutting the Winter Fuel Payment and shutting day centres, libraries, axing jobs and public services, millions are literally being left out in the cold. People shouldn’t have to decide between eating and heating. The ability to keep warm should not be dictated by how much money you have in your pocket. We want to see public control over how and from where our fuel comes from”.
– Fuel poverty is defined as expenditure of 10% or more of household income on fuel.
– According to the government-commissioned Hills Poverty Review, 2,700 people – a conservative estimate – will die this winter as a direct result of being ‘fuel poor’.[2]
– An April 2011 YouGov survey found that nearly 1 in 4 households (24% or 6.3million homes) were suffering fuel poverty. [3]
Jules Carpenter, a supporter of the protest, and mother of two, added:
“If the government supported a transition to renewable energy, people wouldn’t face this problem. Green measures are not the cause of high bills and fuel poverty – turning energy into a commodity and corporate competition to find cheaper, yet finite fossil fuels are. Green changes wouldn’t cost more if the government put climate agreements and health before bailing out the banks”
– Each of the six major energy suppliers in the UK raised their prices over the Summer of 2011.
– The government’s ‘Green Deal’ will insulate homes if customers are willing to sign up to what could be a thirty-year debt repayment. Critics point out, whilst insulation is necessary, it should not depend on ability to pay or stay in one property for decades. This is an unrealistic prospect for many single and low-income tenants.
The Fuel Poverty Action group, and other groups, are also planning a nationwide ‘warm in ‘ on the 27th and 28th of January which will see people occupying warm spaces, such as corporate buildings, in order to keep warm and highlight the injustice of energy pricing.
Notes to editors:
The Fuel Poverty Action group is a project of the Climate Justice Collective (CJC). The CJC has emerged out of Climate Camp UK. Fuel Poverty Action aims to expose the economic and environmental causes of fuel poverty and take action to realise energy democracy and climate justice. We are the 99%.
[1] Please contact 07542 358 310 for details of the location on the day.
[2] For the full Poverty Review see: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/funding/Fuel_poverty/Hills_Review/Hills_Review.aspx
[3] http://bit.ly/s4NbSh

Tuesday November 22nd
Meet 10.30 am, Parliament Square.

In the UK, thousands of people die every year because they cannot afford to heat their homes. The UK’s Big Six energy companies’ price hike mean five-year record profits for them (over 700% profit per customer) and cold homes for us.
Instead of supporting genuinely free insulation, proper housing, and alternative, democratically controlled energy systems, the government is helping its corporate allies maintain a monopoly on who gets to keep warm and how.
Society’s most vulnerable people including pensioners, babies, and people who are ill or disabled, face the toughest winter in years as the choice between heating and eating starts to bite.
These same energy companies are also relentlessly investing in fossil fuels at the cost of countless lives through climate change and pollution.
On Tuesday 22nd November, the government will announce its excess winter death statistics for 2010-2011, revealing the extra deaths last winter in comparison to other seasons. On this day, join Fuel Poverty Action’s funeral and ‘die-in’ to expose Big Six and government collusion.
We will meet at 10.30, Parliament Square and proceed to a Big Six target and use our cold and‘dead’ bodies to disrupt their operations. Bring a blanket..

The Big Bill: a Fuel Poverty Action teach-in
Saturday 5th November
12.30-17.30
Tottenham Chances, 399 High Rd, Tottenham, London, N17 6QN
In the winter, thousands of people die of the cold in Britain – a scandal in a country where power companies are reaping record profits, and £850 billion is spent on bailing out banks. A large proportion of the population do not have access to decent heating or good housing, and many also have so little money that it’s a hard choice between heating, eating, or paying the rent.
Launching the new group – Fuel Poverty Action – a project of the Climate Justice Collective, this teach-in will be an opportunity for climate activists, local organizers and everyone concerned about high energy bills to discuss what high prices and poorly insulated homes mean for all of us, and see what we can do to ensure that everyone has fair access to heating and electricity.
As climate activists, we do not buy the lie that fuel prices are inflated by the need for green energy. The same vampire companies that are hiking up prices are spewing out the greenhouse gases that threaten a climate catastrophe. All they care about is their own bottom line, while millions of families live in cold homes and pay even higher rates for their gas and electric than people in big warm homes pay on direct debits.
At the same time, energy companies are seeking out increasingly destructive ways to extract and produce energy like tar sands, shale gas, deep sea oil and gas, new nuclear, biofuels, opencast coal mining and mountaintop removal mining. A cleaner, sustainable energy economy controlled by people for people – not for profit – could release families from the dilemma of having to choose between food and warmth. Sun, wind, and tides will not run out, and do not cost the earth!
12.30: Introduction including “What is fuel poverty? And “what’s the climate got to do with it?” – with a chance to introduce what you have been thinking and doing.
1.00: Who pays? Living with high energy bills, bad housing, and unfair pricing policies.
1.30: Who gains? The market, the “Big Six” energy companies, who’s profiting from high fuel prices, government subsidies and greenwash, and Frankenstein Fuels
3.00: What can we do about it? Intro and group discussions. Including: Knowing your rights / Cooperative energy schemes / Exposing the profiteers and their friends in high places / Fighting for the right to a secure, draught-free, energy-efficient home.
5.00: What next? Including information on the 22 November Winter Deaths Demonstration, and moving forward with the campaign.
LET US KNOW
You are welcome to just turn up on the day, but it would be really helpful if you can let us know in advance if you’re likely to come, or if there’s something you’d particularly like to discuss, by emailing [email protected]
LUNCH
There’s a good Turkish restaurant/take-away just over the road (they do falafels!) Or please feel free to bring your own food or food to share – we know people will want to eat while we get to know each other during the introductory session. Hot drinks, snacks and a microwave will be available.
KIDS SPACE
Please let us know in advance by emailing [email protected] if you would like to bring children with you and we will do what we can to take care of their energy needs!
GETTING THERE
Tottenham Chances can be found at 399 High Road, Tottenham, N17 6QN. It’s near excellent transport links. A map can be found here: http://www.tchances.co.uk/
CRASH SPACE
If you need crash space for Friday or Saturday evening, let us know by emailing [email protected]
Organised by Fuel Poverty Action
http://fuelpovertyaction.wordpress.com/