New energy tariff plea for everyone on PIP, DLA, ADP and Attendance Allowance

A new call has been made for an energy bill support scheme to be introduced for disabled people. It comes as analysts forecast a further rise in the price cap.

Cornwall Insight said it expects Ofgem to announce that the typical household's dual-fuel energy bill will rise by 1 per cent, or £19, from £1,717 to £1,736 at the start of 2025. It already went up by £149 at the start of October.

Campaigners say the move will leave vulnerable households struggling, especially those on disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Attendance Allowance and Scotland's Adult Disability Payment. They have reiterated the plea for a social tariff so that people with health issues can pay less for the higher amount of energy they need to use.

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Disability equality charity Scope says predictions of the energy price cap rising again in January will mean many people with long-term or lifelong medical issues struggling to afford their energy bills. This comes on top of worries about the impact of Labour's upcoming reforms to the health/disability benefits system, which are due to be announced in the spring and are intended to bring down soaring costs.

David Southgate, policy manager at disability equality charity Scope, said: "This is a bitter pill to swallow for the many disabled people who face sky-high bills because they have no choice but to use more energy. Life costs a lot more when you're disabled, because of needing to use more heating to stay warm and healthy, or charging vital equipment like wheelchairs and breathing machines.

"Our disability energy support services are hearing from disabled people who have cut back everything they can and racked up huge amounts of debt. The government urgently needs to step in and bring in discounted energy bills for disabled people."

The idea is to offer a targeted cut-price option below the price of the cheapest standard energy tariff currently available. However, Octopus Energy boss Greg Jackson previously suggested it wasn't a workable option because of the big question of who would pay for it.

He said: "It's either going to be the Government, in which case they need to put taxes up, or it's going to be paid for by other energy customers, in which case bills go up for everyone who's not getting it. The challenge is that bills are already too high."

Instead, the Octopus boss has been lobbying ministers to introduce another pricing system, based on the use of clean energy. The system, known as locational marginal pricing, would see people living near wind farms pay less for electricity.

A recent report by FTI Consulting claimed it could save billpayers £51 billion by 2040. Octopus already offers time-specific discounts for people living near wind farms of up to 50 per cent when the turbines generate more power in very windy weather.

The initiative has led to tens of thousands of people contacting Octopus since 2021 asking for turbines to be built near their homes, he said. But critics say it would be unfair for people to pay less based on where they live.

Mr Jackson said that while the biggest discounts will be the areas with the most electricity generation, such as areas of Scotland, the price would drop in every region because the transmission system would also be more efficient.

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