FUEL poverty campaigners have demanded the government take urgent action to protect Scotland’s poorest households from “paying the most to keep the system running.”

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition (EFPC) called for reform of how network and policy costs are recovered after the owners of Scottish Power today posted £1.6 billion in profits in the first half of this year, £909 million of which was driven by network operations.

Iberdrola saw net profits run into the hundreds of millions for the firm, which owns over 172km of electricity wires and controls networks in southern Scotland, north-west England and northern Wales.

EFPC co-ordinator Simon Francis said these profits were “not won in a competitive market” but a “regulated monopoly and paid for by households through standing charges, a daily fee people are billed before they use a single unit of energy.”

“Growth on this scale, driven substantially by network investment in Britain, is a reminder of who ultimately funds it,” he explained.

Mr Francis added: “Standing charges are the most regressive part of the bill. Prepayment customers watch their credit drain away while their homes stay cold, and arrears build up in households already carrying record levels of energy debt.

“Ministers and Ofgem must urgently reform how network and policy costs are recovered so that the poorest households are no longer paying the most to keep the system running.”

The coalition relayed predictions from industry analysts warning customers to expect their energy bills to increase again from October 1, despite the government’s announced cuts to VAT on these.