Wolverhampton had one of highest levels of fuel poverty when energy crisis began in 2021
More than one in five people in Wolverhampton were living in fuel poverty in 2021, making it one of the worst-hit areas in the country.
According to new figures, more than 23,400 households in the city struggled to heat their homes when the energy crisis hit, meaning 21.8 per cent of homes were living in fuel poverty.
These numbers had improved from 2020, when 22.4 per cent of households could not afford to heat their homes.
However, energy prices increased significantly towards the end of 2021, with many suppliers in the UK going out of business. By the end of December 2021, 28 energy companies had closed their doors.
Adam Scorer, chief executive of National Energy Action, said increasing energy prices and falling income has pushed many into fuel poverty.
"Behind these figures are the stories of people we hear from every day. People in crisis, sacrificing hot meals or showers to afford a warm room, or forced to ration their energy despite it decimating their health," he said.
He added: "Yet, the two-year time lag on the data means we won’t know the full picture of the energy crisis until this time next year. The Government figures released today massively understate the current crisis."
Sandwell was also badly affected by the energy crisis, with one in five (20.6 per cent) struggling with energy bills, a decrease of 0.2 per cent since 2020.
Walsall fared slightly better, with 19.7 per cent living in fuel poverty in 2021, a slight increase from 19.5 per cent the year before.
Dudley had the lowest levels of fuel poverty in the Black Country, with one in six struggling with their heating bills in 2021 (17.4 per cent), an increase of 0.1 per cent from 2020.
Staffordshire had far lower levels of fuel poverty by comparison, with only 13.7 per cent of households in South Staffordshire considered fuel poor, and 15.7 per cent in Cannock.
A household is considered to be fuel poor if they are living in a property with an energy efficiency rating of band D or below and their disposable income, after paying housing and energy costs, is below the official poverty line.
While these statistics present a stark image of people wrestling with ever increasing energy bills, National Energy Action said the data "only tells part of the story" as the energy crisis has worsened over the past two years.
Nationally, about 3.2 million households in England (13.1 per cent) were in fuel poverty two years ago.
The West Midlands had the highest level of households struggling to heat their homes at 18.5 per cent, while Birmingham (23.2 per cent) and Stoke (22.9 per cent) were the worst hit areas in the region.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the Government knows this has been a difficult time for families.
They said this is why the Government has covered "around half" of the typical household's energy bill over the winter.
“Our financial support, together with progress made in delivering energy efficiency measures, has prevented a significant increase in fuel poverty following Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and weaponisation of gas supplies,” they said.
