While over 2m people had to use foodbanks last year, the wealthiest in the UK are getting massive unnecessary energy bill subsidies.

The 2-year govt. energy price guarantee will result in around £12bn going to households earning over £91k per year. £4bn will go to the top 1% of energy users, this will include mansions with heated pools!

Rishi Sunak could get up to £18k subsidy to heat his swimming pool. https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1600629/rishi-sunak-swimming-pool-bill-britain-hammered-energy-crisis

£22bn will go to households earning over £69k per year. How can this possibly be a good use of public funds? Wealthy households do not need subsidies, but they are likely to end up getting around £8bn MORE than the poorest.

This would have been very easy to avoid, by capping the subsidy to the first few thousand units of gas or elec. Wealthier households tend to have bigger homes so generally use more energy. ONS data suggests that on average the wealthiest 10% use 72% more electricity and 88% more gas each year than the poorest 10%.

Allowing excess energy usage to be charged at market rates for high energy users would encourage wealthy households to invest in technology like solar or heat pumps; creating jobs and economic growth, while cutting energy use, and combatting climate change.

£22bn would be far better spent on insulating or otherwise improving the energy efficiency for every one of the poorest 20% of households (@£3,900 invested per home for the 5.6million households with an annual income of under £19k). This would cut energy use for next winter, reduce the cost of the energy price cap to the government and reduce the burden on all of us as tax and bill payers. In addition, this would cut carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels FOREVER.

It is not too late for this government to change course, and limit the subsidy to the first few thousand units of electricity and gas, (with a higher electricity limit for households with no gas supply). A lower subsidy for polluting gas and a higher subsidy for low-carbon electricity could also help encourage a shift to lower-carbon electric heating. 

Please sign this petition to ask the government to reconsider this unnecessary gift to the wealthiest at the expense of the poor and all of our futures.

Subsidy based on household income has been calculated using Office of National Statistics data on average household energy use by household income, the government-stated tariff caps, and expected average 2023 tariffs without the new cap from Cornwall Insights data.  Subsidy based on household energy use (top 1% energy users) calculated using the same tariff assumptions and data supplied by DBEIS under FOI request.