Campaigners are demanding a “new deal” for thousands of customers across Tayside and Fife hit the hardest by a crippling energy cost crisis.
They claim bill-payers are treated as second class citizens by the UK Government and regulator Ofgem just because they are not connected to the gas grid.
Mains gas is cheaper than electric or alternative energy sources, and areas without access to gas are known to have far higher levels of fuel poverty.
Newly released data shows that 15% of UK properties are off the gas grid, rising to 19% in Scotland.
Perthshire worst affected in region
But the figure for Perth and Kinross in 2021 was 33%, or 24,000 homes.
In Angus the proportion is 26%, some 15,000 homes, while in Dundee it was 17% and in Fife it was 7%.
Di Alexander, a former chairman of Scotland’s Rural Fuel Poverty Taskforce, said it was a “huge problem”.
He said: “Though the link between the unavailability of mains gas and a consequentially much increased likelihood of fuel poverty is universally accepted, both Ofgem and the Westminster government continue to sweep the problem under the carpet and treat off-gas households as second class citizens.”
Mr Alexander said the problem had been repeatedly raised with the government and regulator.
He said in the short-term, Ofgem has the power to introduce a “social tariff” that could at least level up the energy price playing field for the “vulnerable” households who live in off-gas areas and households.
But the campaigner said the solution to the problem is for the UK Government to “break the linkage once and for all between electricity and gas prices“.
Homes without access to mains gas often use heating oil, but prices have soared in the last year.
Mid Scotland and Fife Labour MSP Claire Baker said the rises and “lack of assistance from government” means that many are at risk of being pushed into poverty.
“Across Mid Scotland and Fife there are numerous households off the gas grid, including around 26,000 households in Perth and Kinross and 14,000 in Fife, and they need to be a part of any further response and support,” she said.
“The average price of heating oil saw a year-on-year increase of over 60% in 2022 but for homes reliant on alternative fuels the limited funding from the alternative fuel payment scheme will not come close to meeting this, these households need both general and targeted assistance.
“The UK Government needs to address prince increases in the alternative fuels market to help prevent the risk of more households, particularly in rural areas, being pushed into poverty.
“The Scottish Government must be realistic about the cost of retrofitting installation and better support households off the gas grid looking to install air-source heat pumps and other systems so they have adequate and affordable heating systems in place.”
A UK Government spokesman said: “We recognise people are struggling with the rising cost of living, including those who use heating oil and bottled gas to warm their homes.
“That is why we have increased the Alternative Fuel Payment to £200 and are committed to delivering this in February.”
