Richard Winstone

Follow me on YouTube @TheRegulatorGuy.

Regulating our regulators, putting power back in the hands of consumers!

[End Fuel Poverty Coalition @EndFuelPoverty]

🧾The Trump Tax is real

New polling from EFPC finds 76% of UK adults blame Trump for soaring energy bills, and 63% are calling the increases in their energy bills exactly what they are: a Trump Tax

44% of UK Adults can't afford the July increase in energy bills, and a clear majority say scrapping the Windfall Tax right now is the wrong call

Read more: https://t.co/cO0I0hnK38

#EndFuelPoverty #TrumpTax #energybills

[Richard Winstone @RichardWinstone]

@facebook everything okay with your security systems today? Seem to have missed a few decades on this warning 😂

[End Fuel Poverty Coalition @EndFuelPoverty]

And as we mark Fuel Poverty Awareness Day, the reality is this: we are entering a fifth winter of the energy bills crisis with no long-term plan to end it.

Today’s Budget is a crucial moment. The Government has a choice:

Continue with short-term fixes that barely dent bills, or
Deliver the long-term investment that will actually cut them for good.

That means:
🏠Fully funding the Warm Homes Plan
⚡Reforming our broken energy pricing system
💬Introducing a fair social tariff
🔧Backing a national programme to insulate cold homes
💰Using excess energy profits to support households, not reduce tax bills for polluters

This Budget must finally deliver a plan to end fuel poverty.

#EndFuelPoverty #FuelPovertyAwarenessDay #EnergyEfficiency #Budget2025 #WarmHomes @NEA_UKCharity

[End Fuel Poverty Coalition @EndFuelPoverty]

Today’s Budget will bring a small reduction in bills, with the average annual energy bill expected to fall from £1,755 to around £1,665 from April 2026.

But this still leaves bills hundreds of pounds above winter 2020/21 and £97 higher than at the General Election, meaning many households will continue to struggle through a fifth winter of high costs.

To genuinely end the energy bills crisis, the Government must go beyond headline measures. That means reforming energy pricing, targeting support at those most at risk, delivering a new fuel poverty strategy and pushing forward with an ambitious Warm Homes Plan to upgrade cold, damp homes.

Ministers also need to address the 25% funding gap created by scrapping the ECO scheme, which risks undermining long-term progress on reducing bills.

A small step forward, but far from the action needed to make homes warm and affordable.

#EndFuelPoverty #FuelPovertyAwarenessDay #Budget2025

[End Fuel Poverty Coalition @EndFuelPoverty]

Reports suggest the Government is considering slashing the Warm Homes Plan by £6.4 billion, at the same time as looking at a £6 billion tax cut for oil and gas firms.

Cutting the UK’s biggest energy-efficiency programme would be a disastrous step backwards. It would mean colder homes, higher bills, and millions left without the long-term support they were promised.

If Ministers are serious about cutting bills for good, they must protect, not raid, the Warm Homes Plan. Energy efficiency is the single most effective way to lower bills, reduce demand, and lift households out of fuel poverty.

This Budget is the moment to choose: Warm homes for the public, or tax breaks for fossil fuel giants?

Read more: https://t.co/tPdN0l3SzQ

#EndFuelPoverty #EnergyEfficiency #Budget2025 #WarmHomes

[End Fuel Poverty Coalition @EndFuelPoverty]

While gas giants rack up another year of huge UK profits, millions of families are still living in cold homes, juggling rising bills, and falling deeper into energy debt.

Why? Because our energy system still allows companies to profit even when people can’t afford the basics.

If the government really want to bring bills down for good, they need to:

🔥Crack down on excessive profits
🏠Invest in warmer, energy-efficient homes
💡Deliver fair, targeted support for those struggling most

The “golden years” of the gas industry shouldn’t come at the expense of cold homes and growing hardship.

#EndFuelPoverty #EnergyCrisis

[Richard Winstone @RichardWinstone]

@ofgem quick question - why is 50% of the £3 price increase going straight to the profits of energy suppliers? 50% profit margin on additional costs seems a little steep? That's an extra ~£50m in profit for suppliers!

[End Fuel Poverty Coalition @EndFuelPoverty]

Ofgem has today announced that the new price cap will increase by 0.2% from January, leaving the average bill still around £700 higher than in 2020 and £190 higher than at the 2024 General Election.

➡️ £1,758 a year bill on average for a typical dual-fuel household on direct debit.

Energy firms have made over £125bn in UK profits since 2020, as the public enters a fifth winter of the bills crisis, with 12.1 million households struggling to afford the cost of energy.

Bills remain far above pre-crisis levels, and without Government action, there’s no prospect of them returning to anything close to affordable.

Ahead of next week’s Budget, we’re calling on Ministers to deliver a plan that cuts bills for good:

🏠Fully fund the Warm Homes Plan
🔧Long-term investment in energy efficiency
💡Action to reduce electricity prices
📉A fair social tariff
⚖️Reform the energy pricing system so households, not energy giants, benefit

People can’t endure more high prices and uncertainty. It’s time for real action to bring bills down.

#EndFuelPoverty #EnergyBills #Pricecap #Budget2025

[Richard Winstone @RichardWinstone]

Ofgem have announced the price cap for October-December 2025 as being a 2% increase on today's price cap, moving up to £1,755 - This is 68% higher than we were paying in 2020/2021. With further increases expected next year - the Energy Crisis isn't over!

https://t.co/a3L6DKaCgh

[End Fuel Poverty Coalition @EndFuelPoverty]

Donald Trump has taken aim at wind power yet again. But the real price of his fossil fuel agenda is higher energy bills and a damaged planet.

What we truly need is clear:

✅ Clean, affordable energy — Renewables like wind and solar already deliver energy cheaper than fossil fuels, with lower environmental and health impacts.

✅ Energy independence — Renewables reduce reliance on volatile global markets and secure stable prices—saving households on bills.

And here's the reality: recent data shows that by 2027, the UK will no longer be able to meet its heating demand from domestic gas alone—even if every new gas field is approved. By 2050, 94% of our gas will be imported. That’s not energy security. It’s economic vulnerability.

It’s time to reject fossil nostalgia and embrace renewable energy investments—so we can protect our planet and bring bills down for good.

[End Fuel Poverty Coalition @EndFuelPoverty]

📉 North Sea gas is running out, and the UK will soon be almost entirely reliant on imports.

Right now, just 14% of extractable gas remains, leaving us at the mercy of global energy markets, with prices that could rise sharply.

That’s why we urgently need a comprehensive Warm Homes Plan, to make sure pensioners and low-income households aren’t left behind.

💷 Fairer pricing
🏠 Help to improve heating and insulation
🛠️ Long-term solutions that protect people from volatile markets

No one should have to live in a cold, damp home.

#EndFuelPoverty

[Richard Winstone @RichardWinstone]

A lot happening in the next over the last week or so:

https://t.co/S30UwzJTKt

[Richard Winstone @RichardWinstone]

A quick catch up on some bits i've seen online on the energy market over the last month:

https://t.co/CMc38bFXwh

[End Fuel Poverty Coalition @EndFuelPoverty]

📣 The RTS meter switch-off has been postponed, a necessary step after it became clear the original deadline was unachievable.

The government is right to step in and hold Ofgem and the energy industry to account.

What’s needed now:

➡️ A clear, published plan showing how and when the gradual switch-off will happen
➡️ Proper communication so households understand what’s happening and when
➡️ Firm guarantees that no one will be left without heating or hit with higher bills

Tens of thousands still rely on RTS meters. They deserve clarity, support, and protection, not more stress.

[Richard Winstone @RichardWinstone]

@BritishGas started texting me last week about a bill that is about to be due, and this week about it being overdue. I haven't been with British Gas for over 2 years so I gave them a call...

It took an hour and a half, and speaking to 3 advisors, to find out that after I left my old apartment in April 2023 someone else moved in a few days later and their meter readings were slightly different to mine (bearing in mind that I left my fridge-freezer for them, which remained plugged in that whole time). It was a £9 bill from 2 years ago and @BritishGas only just decided to get in contact with me last week. How much money did it cost to have a 90 minute conversation with me? The fact that the third person only figured it out after taking up some management time for assistance, how much did that manager's time cost? And it was for usage that I wasn't even liable for, usage between tenants is the landlords issue!

I'm glad to say that the third advisor (who was excellent and very upbeat by the way) agreed that it was a silly bill and wrote it off, but this feels like a massive waste of time and resources for something that you could easily automate - a bill less than £10 that is over 2 years old, scrap it, not worth the man hours.

Perhaps you could lower customer energy bills if you improved your billing practices and didn't waste money chasing old, tiny bills.

[Richard Winstone @RichardWinstone]

I wrote a quick article about the spending review announcement later this week, what it is and a few things that we should expect to see.

https://t.co/7i5YF3vfhn

[Richard Winstone @RichardWinstone]

If any of you (or people you know) ever owned a diesel car that was made between 2008 and 2020, there are a few class action claims over 'Dieselgate' going on, the first big trial is in October this year, so you might want to jump on one.

Please use the links in this article to check if your car (or previous cars) are eligible to join a claim, takes 30 seconds to do, the October law suit is against Mercedes, Ford, Nissan, Citreon, Peugeot and Renault. More information and links for checking in the article:

https://t.co/2rFxHzGt70

[Richard Winstone @RichardWinstone]

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[Richard Winstone @RichardWinstone]

Net-zero is obviously fantastic for the environment, but there are no guarantees that it will impact our energy bills.

In order for us to see a reduction in our energy prices at home, the @GOVUK and @ofgem need to decouple the gas and electricity prices by removing the single-price electricity wholesale market.

https://t.co/I1HT2qRKNe

[End Fuel Poverty Coalition @EndFuelPoverty]

💸 Slashing the Warm Homes Plan would be a disastrous false economy.

🏚️ Millions are still living in cold, inefficient homes — and facing unaffordable bills every winter.

But reports suggest Rachel Reeves has her eyes on the Warm Homes budget, despite a clear election pledge to deliver the full £13.2bn.

🔴 Cutting that promise risks:
❌ 3,000 skilled jobs lost
❌ Higher bills for millions
❌ Greater reliance on volatile gas markets

✅ Keeping the pledge means:
✔️ 12,000 green jobs
✔️ Lower bills for 3 million homes
✔️ Greater energy security for the UK

If the Chancellor wants to back growth, fairness and climate action — this is the moment to deliver.

#WarmHomesPlan #EndFuelPoverty