National Energy Action (NEA) is a

fuel poverty A household is said to be in fuel poverty when its members cannot afford to keep adequately warm at a reasonable cost, given their income. The term is mainly used in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, although discussions on fuel poverty are increas ...

charity that works to eradicate fuel poverty and campaigns for greater investment in

energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...

to help those who are poor or vulnerable gain affordable heat. NEA has its headquarters in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

and currently operates 20 demonstration projects at 10 offices in England and Wales. NEA has a separate office in Belfast which works throughout Northern Ireland and has two bases in Wales. NEA works closely with its sister organisation, Energy Action Scotland on fuel poverty in Scotland. NEA achieves its objectives through:http://www.nea.org.uk/About-us/, National Energy Action (NEA) website, About NEA, November 2013 Research and analysis into the causes and extent of fuel poverty and the development of policies which will address the problem. Providing advice and guidance to installers on good practice in delivering energy efficiency services to low-income householders. Developing national qualifications and managing their implementation to improve standards of practical work and the quality of energy advice. Producing educational resources to teach people about the importance of energy efficiency. Managing demonstration projects in

inner cities The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists someti ...

and rural areas which show innovative ways of tackling fuel poverty and bring the wider benefits of energy efficiency to local communities. The definition of affordable warmth in affordable warmth schemes is where a household can achieve temperatures needed to maintain health and comfort for expenditure of less than 10% of income. This definition has been accepted and used by successive Government Departments with responsibilities for fuel poverty issues to quantify the extent of the problem. However, there has been some disagreement over what constitutes household income and this clearly has considerable bearing on the total number of fuel-poor households. The Government's preferred definition of household income includes Housing Benefit and Income Support for Mortgage Interest in the calculation of household resources, although fuel poverty estimates are also published using a formula that excludes housing subsidies. NEA's view is that neither of these definitions is acceptable or rational and that the only sensible definition of income is one that uses actual disposable income after housing costs.

Fuel poverty A household is said to be in fuel poverty when its members cannot afford to keep adequately warm at a reasonable cost, given their income. The term is mainly used in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, although discussions on fuel poverty are increas ...

results from a combination of low household income, unaffordable energy costs and inadequate thermal insulation and inefficient and uneconomic heating systems. Welfare benefit increases for vulnerable groups, and other initiatives such as the minimum wage, have addressed some aspects of general poverty and fuel poverty, this approach must be considered short term in the context of fuel poverty. NEA maintains that energy efficiency is the only rational solution to fuel poverty and that Government should direct.

References

Charities based in England Energy in England Newcastle upon Tyne Charities based in Tyne and Wear {{UK-charity-stub

See also

References