To tackle fuel poverty, the government should provide some energy for free

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Why are we not providing, directly to each meter, a small amount of energy for free? (PA)

An excellent article by Hannah Fearn on the demoralising problem of fuel poverty. Government intervention in the form of loans to help with energy bills or a cash payment, which could be spent on anything, fails to tackle the problem.

Why are we not providing, directly to each meter, a small amount of energy for free? Just enough to stay alive and have some hot food. This is easy to program into all energy contracts, and is a form of aid that can only accomplish its one desired aim. It cannot be sold for drugs or alcohol.

This does not solve the increasing international price of energy, but it does what any decent government should be doing, and shifts the burden from the individual to the state, where it can be tackled centrally and efficiently.