4.7 million homes in energy crisis hotspots across England

• Friends of the Earth’s mapping finds 6,515 neighbourhoods set to be most impacted by energy price spikes, triggered by the Iran war  
• Birmingham, Bradford, and Enfield top the list of areas with the highest number of 'energy crisis hotspots'. Full lists by local authority area and constituencies and an interactive map are available online
• Ahead of the May local elections, Friends of the Earth is calling on all political parties to commit to scaling up cheap, clean, homegrown renewables, properly insulate homes in energy crisis hotspots before next winter, and introduce a social tariff (reduced energy costs) for those most at risk  

More than 6,500 neighbourhoods – including 4.7 million homes – in England are at greatest risk of serious financial hardship as energy prices spike due to the US-Israel war on Iran, new research reveals.

The analysis from environmental justice organisation, Friends of the Earth, identifies the ‘energy crisis hotspots’ by mapping the neighbourhoods where energy use is high and household income is below the national average.  

Birmingham (1st), Bradford (2nd), Enfield (3rd), Brent (4th), and Ealing (5th) rank highest among 30 local authority areas with the most energy crisis hotspots.

In many cases, energy use is high in these neighbourhoods because homes are poorly insulated, which means they need more energy and cost more to keep warm. Many lack basic measures such as loft or cavity wall insulation.  

Recent conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on energy infrastructure as part of the Iran war have seen wholesale gas prices more than double since February and energy bills are set to soar as a result. Independent energy experts, Cornwall Insight, predict that the typical annual household energy bill will increase by £228 to £1,929 from July, but this could be subject to further shocks.

People living in energy crisis hotspots are set to be hit the hardest by rising energy bills. Friends of the Earth’s analysis finds that energy bills in these areas will rise to an average of £2,170 annually (ranging from £1,910 to £4,750) by July [3], £241 above the typical national rate.  

For some households in rural areas of England which rely on heating oil, the situation is far more extreme. Energy crisis hotspots in four local authorities – Torridge, South Norfolk, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk and North Norfolk – are predicted to have annual energy bills £1,000 higher than the average household, according to the data analysis. 

Many people living in energy crisis hotspots will have local elections in their areas in May [4].

Friends of the Earth is calling on the government, and all political parties standing in local elections, to support the following policies:

• Build more renewable energy, fast – wind and solar farms are already the cheapest ways to produce electricity.  
• Help people insulate their homes – around 10 million low-income households live in poorly insulated, heat-leaking homes. Simple upgrades like loft and cavity wall insulation can help cut bills quickly and support should be targeted first in energy crisis hotspots.  
• Introduce a 'social tariff' for energy – provide reduced-price energy for people living on the lowest incomes.  
• Remove hidden charges from bills – some costs on energy bills aren't for energy but to fund social and environmental measures. These would be more fairly and better funded if they were moved into general taxation rather than tacked onto energy bills.
• Make polluters pay – a permanent and strengthened windfall tax on all excess profits made by oil and gas companies, including during energy crises, to help fund support for the households who need it most.

Friends of the Earth does not support drilling for more oil and gas in the UK because it won’t lower energy bills – prices are set on the global market – but will increase the carbon emissions driving climate change, floods, storms and droughts.

Asad Rehman, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, said:

“Once again, international conflict is exposing the UK’s continuing reliance on fossil fuels and vulnerability to volatile global gas markets.  

“Our analysis shows how spiralling energy costs are set to hit home. Millions of ordinary people, who are already struggling to heat their homes and feed their families, will face extortionate energy bills.

“Meanwhile, the fossil fuel industry is set to reap record profits as instability spreads across the Gulf states, lives are lost and families are torn apart.  

“Ending our reliance on fossil fuels for good by ramping up investment in homegrown renewables, insulating the UK’s heat-leaking homes and supporting those most at risk with cheaper energy is the only way to bring down our bills for good. It’s time to put people and our planet before the interests of the oil and gas giants fuelling global instability and the climate crisis.”  

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. The map, briefing and datasets are available on Friends of the Earth’s policy website.

2. Energy crisis hotspots are Lower layer Super Output Area (LSOA) neighbourhoods where both income deprivation and average annual energy bills are above the national average. LSOAs are small statistical neighbourhoods each typically covering around 1,500 residents, although the geographical size varies considerably, with rural LSOAs much larger than urban LSOAs. 

Average annual energy bills were estimated using the latest published regional prices for mains gas, electricity and unmetered fuels combined with average consumption data from DESNZ. Unmetered fuel use was estimated from EPC data and the mix of fuels and EPC bands in each neighbourhood.  

The income domain of the Index of Deprivation 2025 was appended to the data and energy crisis hotspots identified as the 50% most income-deprived neighbourhoods where 2025 bills exceeded Ofgem’s price cap. Finally, the predicted annual bills for 2026 for each neighbourhood were estimated using projected rises in the Ofgem energy price cap as published by Cornwall Insights and recent hikes in the price of heating oil in the UK as reported by GlobalPetrolPrices.com.

3. This estimate is if the price cap for July to September forecast by Cornwall Insight comes to pass and is maintained until June 2027.  

4. 23 of the top 30 local authorities identified have elections in May, as do 125 of the 289 councils that have at least one energy crisis hotspot in their area.

5. Top 30 local authorities with the highest number of energy crisis hotspots: