A national fuel poverty conference highlighting fuel poverty will be held in the Highlands today.
Minister for housing and welfare, Margaret Burgess MSP will open the event which has been organised by the national charity Energy Action Scotland.
The conference, called ‘Bringing the Fuel Poor in from the Cold’, will take place at the Coylumbridge Hotel, near Aviemore.
The event will focus on rural issues and among the topics for debate will be the premium on living in rural areas.
Ms Burgess said: “It is a scandal that there should be any fuel poverty in a country as energy-rich as Scotland, with over 27% of households affected.
“The government is aware that customers in rural and remote areas face some of the highest energy prices in the country, and we are doing all we can with the powers we currently have to address this.”
A range of agencies, charities and companies, including SSE, from across the country will come together at the two-day conference and its accompanying exhibition to discuss solutions to cold, damp homes.
Other topics for discussion at the conference include the roll-out of smart meters, who pays for grant and support programmes, and alternative energy models.
Energy Action Scotland director, Norman Kerr, said: “It has been shown that living in remote and rural areas can add significantly to people’s cost of living.
“Rural homes are often off the mains gas grid and so are dependent on other forms of fuel and can be hard-to-treat when it comes to fitting insulation.”