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Fuel Bank Foundation Launches 2025 Fuel Crisis Report, Exposing Deepening Hardship for Millions

December 4, 2025

Fuel Bank Foundation has today unveiled its 2025 Fuel Crisis Report, laying bare the growing scale and severity of fuel crisis across the UK.

Read our 2025 Fuel Crisis Report

Drawing on new research and detailed insights from thousands of people living in fuel crisis, the report, ‘Shining a Light on the People Living in Fuel Crisis’, highlights that six million UK households are now in fuel poverty, with families on prepayment meters facing the greatest hardship.

The report shows a sharp rise in the number of people experiencing fuel crisis, defined as having no money at all to pay for energy, leaving households without heat, light, hot water or power.

Key findings:

50% of voucher recipients are first-time users, signalling rapidly rising need.
42% of households run out of money to top up at least once a week.
40% regularly choose between food and energy, with one in 12 doing so daily.
38% of recipients are single-person households.
Two in five households have children at home.

The report also shows that 93% of individuals supported are of working age, including many in employment, underlining the extent of financial pressure facing low-income households.

Speaking at the launch of the report at a parliamentary event hosted by Jonathan Brash MP, Matt Cole, Chief Executive of Fuel Bank Foundation, said:

"The UK is in the midst of a deepening energy affordability crisis, and the findings of this year’s report are stark. Fuel crisis isn’t about low affordability; it’s about no affordability. Too many people are living in cold, damp homes, unable to heat food, wash clothes, or keep the lights on."

“We expect to issue our one millionth fuel voucher next year, a milestone no charity should ever reach. Behind these numbers are families making impossible choices and individuals suffering in silence. Without urgent support from Government and industry, the situation will get worse before it gets better.”

Matt Cole, CEO, Fuel Bank Foundation

Jonathan Brash MP paid tribute to Fuel Bank Foundation’s work and urged Ministers to recognise fuel crisis as a national priority.

“It is a privilege to host the Fuel Bank Foundation in Parliament and to thank them for the extraordinary work they do to support people in crisis. Fuel Bank’s impact is felt across the country, including in Hartlepool, where more households have received support than anywhere else this year. Every day they offer practical help, dignity and hope when people need it most. This report shows clearly that millions are being pushed into fuel crisis. We need national solutions that match the scale of the challenge.”

Jonathan Brash MP

The Fuel Crisis Report sets out three key recommendations to address the systemic drivers of fuel poverty:

Targeted Government support so that immediate help reaches vulnerable households automatically, without the need for applications.
Simplified prepayment, smoothing seasonal costs, pausing debt recovery during winter, and reforming standing charges.
Accelerate home retrofits, ensuring existing homes are warm, safe and energy-efficient, with improvements to EPC standards.

“The interlinked nature of poverty cannot be understated, and we would like to see a focus on long-term prevention and outcomes instead of short-term solutions. We urge the Government to consider how to fund long-term programmes through future savings in other policy areas such as education, skills and health to provide the much-needed support to reduce fuel crisis in the UK.”

Matt Cole, CEO, Fuel Bank Foundation