Energy Watch 2

Welsh Lib Dem Mick Bates today called on the Welsh Assembly Government to form an urgent Cabinet task group to tackle fuel poverty.
It is estimated that 340,000 people in Wales will be living in fuel poverty this winter due to rising fuel costs.
Fuel poverty is defined as having to spend more than 10 per cent of household income on fuel.
Mr Bates, the party spokesperson for the environment, has written to the First Minister Rhodri Morgan urging him to form a task group so that ministers in key departments can use monies in their own portfolios to tackle the issue.
He also condemned energy companies on their lack of clarity and clear information on what they spend in Wales to reduce fuel poverty.
Speaking after a Sustainability Committee meeting which heard evidence from npower, Scottish and Southern, British Gas, E.ON, Scottish Power and EDF Energy, Mr Bates said: “It was very difficult to pin down exactly what they are doing to help the thousands of families who live in fuel poverty in Wales – it was like knitting fog.
“Energy companies should be compelled to put some of their huge profits back into insulating the homes of their poorest customers so that people can afford to heat their homes this winter without the worry of high fuel bills.”