Nearly 130,000 homes across Scotland face an even bigger hike in energy bills because the do not get their supply from the main grid, the SNP has warned.
Houses which are off the mains gas and use domestic heating oil, LPG or solid fuel to meet their energy needs are part of the “hidden impact” of the cost of living crisis.
SNP Energy spokesman Alan Brown MP said that figures obtained from the House of Commons library show that off-grid households face an even bigger hike to energy bills.
The stats showed that while homes protected by the price cap that limits the rise on prices had seen their energy bills rise by 97.5 per cent in the last year, those who fall outside the cap have faced a 164 cent increase in the same period.
About 1.5 million rural households rely on oil deliveries to heat their home and many have seen prices more than triple over the past six months.
Around 129,000 homes in Scotland are “particularly neglected” by the Chancellor said Brown.
He added: “That there are seemingly millions of forgotten families across the UK left with even bigger energy bills than those who’ve just seen theirs rise by more than 50 per cent is manifestly unjust and strengthens the need for reform across the board, as well as more significant financial support for households.”
In a letter to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Brown said that with no regulation of off-grid energy sources households faced a ‘manifestly unjust’ situation, and called for greater support for those hit the hardest by the cost of living crisis.
He said: “This revelation brings to light the hidden impact of the Tory cost of living crisis that is disproportionately hitting certain communities and areas of the country."
"If the UK government is serious about tackling the cost of living crisis and setting things fair then stricter regulation of off-grid energy source prices is the bare-minimum they ought to consider, on top of that they must re-evaluate their paltry £200 energy support loan and turn it into a full grant.
“The response from the UK government to this crisis of their making has been abysmal, not least for the 129,000 households in Scotland alone that have been particularly neglected amidst energy price rises.”
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