With more Scottish households facing fuel poverty in a resource rich country, something needs to change
A social energy tariff provides a discounted energy price for those who meet the eligibility criteria, such as low-income households and those living with unavoidably high energy costs due to disability or illness. The Scottish Government established the Social Tariff Working Group, which submitted its final recommendation in April of this year, calling for a unit rate discount or real-time rebate for eligible households.
Following this, the Energy Social Tariff Bill was introduced in July 2025 by Labour MP Polly Billington as a private member’s bill. The Bill calls for energy companies to be required to provide social energy tariffs for low-income customers. If introduced, this could lift thousands of Scottish households out of fuel poverty.