Hillhead Review

The cost of living crisis, and the increasing threat of fuel poverty, is detrimentally impacting students across the UK. In 2024, 58% of students reported that their student loans did not sufficiently cover their living costs.

Last year, the eligible amount of student loans was increased in each income bracket. This was designed to compensate for inflation, and for the general increase in food, housing, and other basic necessities. Although, 42% of university students are still living on less than £100 a month after covering rent and bills. With energy prices surging, students are no longer able to rely on their families for support, as their parents struggle to pay their own bills.

With energy prices surging, students are no longer able to rely on their families for support, as their parents struggle to pay their own bills.

Hillhead Review spoke with Fiona Cameron, Vulnerability Director of British Gas, the UK’s leading gas provider and second largest overall energy provider, to gauge whether or not students are incorporated into plans to protect vulnerable customers from fuel poverty. 

Cameron explains that, “All of our customers could be vulnerable at any point, and that includes students. We don’t differentiate or generalise when it comes to support and treat every customer as an individual who deserves the best service and outcomes from us and that includes students.

“Many people have multiple vulnerabilities at any one time which can relate to health, capability, resilience, or life events.” 

“Many people have multiple vulnerabilities at any one time which can relate to health, capability, resilience, or life events.” 

It’s encouraging to hear that the scope for who is considered vulnerable for support from British Gas is so wide, suggesting that students from all different backgrounds are eligible to seek assistance when unable to cover the costs of fuel, especially as winter in Scotland is approaching. 

Cameron raises the point that different forms of vulnerability may cross-over. Young people carry vulnerabilities unrelated to their student status, worsening their ability to cope with the cost of living crisis. One in four university students suffer from a mental health condition, 30% of these cases worsening after entering higher education. 

“We’re currently collaborating with the University of Reading’s meteorological team to enhance weather forecasting for energy applications. This partnership brings together postdoctoral researchers, professors, and industry experts to support the UK’s transition to greener energy—bridging the gap between academia and industry to drive innovation and impact.

“And Centrica offers both internship and graduate schemes designed to develop future leaders across various disciplines. Energy is an exciting area to be working in, with the many challenges and opportunities ahead.”

Young people, and those in university, are the future of energy. We are the next generation that will tackle fuel poverty and work towards creating a greener UK – support in paying for our own fuel, but also opportunities in work to join the fight against fuel poverty, are crucial.

British Gas remains cooperative with both universities and the government, helping to form the policies that impact society’s most vulnerable. “British Gas, through its parent company Centrica, has been actively advocating for the introduction of a social tariff to support vulnerable and low-income energy customers. There is a lot of support for this across the energy industry. 

British Gas remains cooperative with both universities and the government, helping to form the policies that impact society’s most vulnerable.

“Recently, we formed part of a working group set up by the Scottish Government and consisting of other energy suppliers and consumer groups, to explore how this could work in practice. The proposal has been shared with the UK Government which has reserved powers in respect of Energy and they are considering it.   

“We have also participated in discussions with charities and consumer groups, organised by British Gas Energy Trust which has since issued a report to policymakers titled ‘Towards an End to Fuel Poverty in Britain’.  It recommended long-term funding for energy support, implementation of a social tariff and improvement of energy efficiency in homes.”

Cameron’s overarching advice to university students struggling with the cost of fuel is to remain conscious of which properties are most fuel-efficient, “a big room in an old building might look stylish, it’s going to cost a lot more to keep warm.  This one is more from personal experience!”, and to make use of initiatives like PeakSave Sundays- “a great initiative for students to shift their electricity usage to greener, cheaper periods – helping them save money while supporting a more sustainable energy system.”

While discount codes available to students are not yet in production, Cameron provides a hopeful response stating “we’re aware of the interest and continue to monitor opportunities like this.” Perhaps in the future, further financial aid will become available to young people.
British Gas offers more information for young people at https://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy/guides.html.