IS A SOCIAL TARIFF FOR ENERGY FEASIBLE AND EFFECTIVE?

There are three ways to mitigate fuel poverty in the short term: cap prices for all such as the Liz Truss Energy Price Guarantee capping bills at an average of £2500 or the Rishi Sunak £400 mitigations being paid from October to April; using a social tariff which adjust the price paid by the amount consumed; or by subsidising the income of low-income consumers, which Rishi Sunak did in May after the first hike in energy prices. This paper is focussed on social tariffs and concludes that they are probably not as easy to implement and not as effective as using subsidies delivered via the social security system. They certainly cost less than price caps for all.