Diolch. Can I start by saying I've given a minute to David Melding, who will be speaking after I conclude, with your indulgence?

A household in Wales is in fuel poverty if they spend 10 per cent or more of their income on energy costs. As chair of the cross-party group on fuel poverty and energy efficiency now, I also recall the hard work of the cross-party group on fuel poverty in the third Assembly, which I also chaired, to establish the fuel poverty coalition and the fuel poverty charter, and to secure agreement from the Welsh Government to revise its fuel poverty strategy then. In 2010, the Welsh Government set out its strategy to eradicate fuel poverty in Wales in all households by 2018. I apologise to the sector, who've put so much work into giving me information for this speech, that so few Assembly Members are showing them the respect of staying to give attention to their very deep-rooted and justified concerns.

Less than 10 months away from the target date to eradicate fuel poverty in Wales, the most recent statistics show that almost 300,000 households in Wales—23 per cent of the total—are living in fuel poverty, unable to afford to adequately heat their home, or in crippling debt with their energy supplier. It is clear, therefore, that this Welsh Government strategy hasn't met its objectives. 

The objectives of the 2010 fuel poverty strategy are of course still relevant. It's still vital that we reduce the impact of fuel poverty on households and work to eradicate fuel poverty. It's still vital that we create green jobs and business opportunities, and it's still vital that we reduce energy inefficiency in the domestic sector. However, many of the mechanisms and measures contained within the 2010 fuel poverty strategy are out of date or no longer applicable. Although the Nest and Arbed schemes are helping, these alone are not sufficient to tackle the problem. The Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs's announcement of £104 million investment over the next four years in increasing the energy efficiency of up to 25,000 low-income households in Wales is welcome. However, this will not eradicate fuel poverty by 2018. This equates to an average of 6,250 homes each year, and, if the schemes were to continue to assist similar numbers each year, it would take 48 years to eradicate fuel poverty in Wales. 

Britain's smart meter roll-out is the biggest upgrade to our energy infrastructure in a generation. Every household across Great Britain is eligible for a smart meter from their energy supplier at no additional cost. The energy system upgrade will digitise the retail energy market, bring an end to estimated bills and provide information on energy costs in pounds and pence. Smart meters give near real-time information on energy consumption, accurate energy bills and the information to work out whether people are on the best tariff or should switch to a different tariff or supplier. Once the national infrastructure is complete, smart meters will be fully interoperable between suppliers, which will mean quicker and easier switching. However, the roll-out will also require universal mobile connectivity, something the Welsh Government clearly has an important role to play in the delivery of. 

Smart meters should make pre-pay as easy as pay-as-you-go on a mobile. Consumers will have the ability to switch easily between payment options, with no need to change their existing smart meter. Consumers will conveniently see how much credit they've left on their in-home display, top-up will become more flexible, and people will pay the same rates as everyone else, because smart meters remove the need for pre-pay to be more expensive than other tariffs. However, energy suppliers have highlighted the need for the retail energy price cap to be constructed in a way that allows them to carry on implementing the smart meter roll-out.