Calls to an energy advice service rocketed across Tayside and Fife last year as desperate residents sought help with crippling power bills.
New figures show 115,000 people across the nation contacted the Home Energy Scotland advice service in 2021-22 – a rise of 27% on the previous year.
But the number soared even higher in parts of Scotland, including by a staggering 69% in Angus and by 54% in Fife.
Above average rises of 34% and 33% were also recorded in Dundee City and Perth and Kinross respectively.
A total of 7,893 people in Fife contacted the service last year, a number topped only by the 8,440 in Glasgow and 11,437 in Edinburgh.
Home Energy Scotland. funded by the Holyrood government and managed by the Energy Saving Trust, offers free and impartial advice to try to help people create warmer homes, reduce their energy bills, and lower their carbon footprint.
Since 2015, a total of 663,670 households have accessed the Home Energy Scotland advice service.
It estimates it has helped save over £1 billion on domestic energy bills since the service was established in 2008.
The number of people contacting it in parts of Tayside and Fife has almost doubled in the last seven years.
In Angus, the number has increased from 1,670 in 2015-16 to 3,087 last year, while in Dundee it has risen from 2,024 to 3,835 in the same period.
There has been a sharp rise from 2,333 to 4,373 in Perth and Kinross, while in Fife it is up from 6,612 to 7,893.
The figures were published by Green minister Patrick Harvie in response to parliamentary questions lodged by Conservative MSP Miles Briggs.
‘Severity of the issue’
Last night, Mr Briggs said: “The rising number of households contacting the Home Energy Scotland advice service highlights the severity of the issue facing people across the country who are struggling to heat their homes.
“The UK Government’s Budget last week will provide significant help in tackling this and the wider cost-of-living crisis.
“Extending the energy price cap for three months is a welcome step to help families pay energy bills and the Scottish Government will also receive £320 million due to other funding commitments which were announced.”
In response to Mr Briggs question, Mr Harvie said: “Since 2017 householders contacting Home Energy Scotland have been asked whether their home is hard to heat or they are worried about their bills.
“Householders living in or at risk of fuel poverty may also have received advice from other publicly funded advice services.”