Key Facts

Fuel poverty blights lives – it affects both physical health and mental wellbeing.

Scotland’s fuel poverty figures take into account household heating needs, what it costs to meet these and whether this leaves enough money left over for households to maintain an acceptable standard of living. (The definition of fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty is set out in the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019).

34% of households in Scotland are currently living in fuel poverty and 19.4% of households are living in extreme fuel poverty.^*1

These figures are stark but they do not convey the daily reality of living in fuel poverty.

Who’s affected and what makes people more vulnerable to fuel poverty?

Household fuel poverty is driven by different factors: household income, fuel costs and energy consumption (the latter can be affected by the energy efficiency of homes).

People are more likely to be in, or fall into fuel poverty, if they:

• have an ongoing health condition which requires higher-than-average amounts of energy
• have a low income
• live in a home off the gas grid
• live in a rural area

What are the Scottish Government’s Fuel Poverty Targets?

The Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel, as part of its role, is responsible for scrutinising and monitoring the Scottish Government’s progress towards meeting its 2040 Fuel Poverty Targets, which are shown below.