Get your priorities right says Rochdale MP

12.00.00am GMT Tue 25th Mar 2008

Paul Rowen, Lib Dem Work and Pension's Shadow Minister has written to energy company E.On to ask them to get 'their priorities right'. Paul has acted after uncovering that E.On spent £32 million sponsoring the FA Cup and only £4.4 million on helping its elderly customers. The figure of £4.4 million is derisory when you consider that in the last year alone the German firm made a profit of £777 Million.

The company became the fifth energy company to raise their prices in December. It raised the costs of its electricity and gas prices by 9.7 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.

Mr Rowen said: "There is something drastically wrong with the priorities of energy companies like EON (formerly Powergen) when they can spend £32 million sponsoring the FA Cup but only £4.4 million on helping its elderly customers. I am a football fan and not against sponsorship of the FA Cup. However prior to the budget the Government were threatening sanctions against energy companies if they did not reform social tariffs. The fact is the government have bottled it.

Faced with record profits by the Energy Companies they have chosen to do nothing. They have rejected any attempt to put statutory provisions in the Energy Bill currently before Parliament and condemned hundreds of thousands of people to fuel poverty."

E.On's "Stay Warm tariff" is for customers aged over 60, living in a 3 bedroom house or smaller, who get both electricity and gas from E.On and pay by direct debit. The tariff is fixed for 12 months - but the rate charged depends on levels of energy use.