暖气太贵用不起？英国供热企业建议客户“抱宠物取暖” Customers are furious after energy supplier tells customers to cuddle pets to keep warm

今冬英国爆发能源危机，燃气费和电费上涨让英国民众苦不堪言。对于贫困家庭用不起暖气的现状，一家供热企业发布了“保暖小妙招”，其中包括抱宠物取暖、做运动、喝粥等。这些保暖建议引发了社会各界的愤怒，最后这家供热企业被迫删除这些建议并道歉。

A British energy supplier has apologized for the "poorly judged and unhelpful" advice sent to customers which suggested they could snuggle up to their pets and exercise to cut back on their heating bills.

英国的一家供热企业为其发给客户的“不当又无用的”建议而道歉，这些建议包括让客户抱着宠物取暖或做运动来减少暖气开支。

SSE, which is owned by OVO Energy, suggested 10 "simple and cost effective ways to keep warm this winter," according to the Financial Times.

据《金融时报》报道，英国能源巨头OVO旗下的SSE能源公司提出了10个“今冬保暖的省钱小妙招”。

Eating bowls of oatmeal, doing star jumps and cuddling pets were among the recommendations on the now-deleted web page.

这些建议现在已经从网页上删除，其中包括吃燕麦粥、做开合跳动作和拥抱宠物。

In a statement sent to CNN Tuesday, a spokesperson for OVO Energy said: "Recently a link to a blog containing energy saving tips was sent to customers. We understand how difficult the situation will be for many of our customers this year."

OVO能源的发言人在1月11日发给美国有线电视新闻网的一则声明中称：“最近一个包含节能小建议的博客链接被发送给了客户。我们理解今年许多客户的情况将会很艰难。”

"We are working hard to find meaningful solutions as we approach this energy crisis, and we recognise that the content of this blog was poorly judged and unhelpful. We are embarrassed and sincerely apologize," the spokesperson added.

发言人称：“面对这场能源危机，我们正在努力寻找有意义的解决方案。我们意识到这篇博文的内容不当且无用。我们感到很尴尬，在此致以真诚的歉意。”

Some British businesses and households have seen their energy bills rise in recent months, as suppliers grapple with a sharp rise in wholesale gas prices.

由于天然气批发价格的急剧上涨给供热企业造成压力，一些英国企业和家庭发现近几个月的能源开支有所增加。

British consumers will pay roughly £790 more to heat and light their homes this year, according to Bank of America. Wholesale European gas prices have jumped by 400% over the previous year and electricity prices have increased by 300%, the bank's analysts said last week. The increases have been driven by cold weather, nuclear plant outages in France and reduced gas flow from Russia.

美国银行的数据显示，英国消费者今年家中的暖气费和电费支出比往年多出了约790英镑（约合人民币6891元）。美国银行分析师上周指出，欧洲天然气批发价格同比上涨了400%，电价同比上涨了300%。引发价格上涨的原因包括天气寒冷、法国核电站停运和俄罗斯天然气供应减少。

According to National Energy Action, more than 4 million UK households are in the grip of fuel poverty -- a figure which the charity believes could rise by 2 million in April when a cap on energy prices is expected to increase.

英国慈善机构国家能源行动的数据显示，逾400万户英国家庭已陷入了燃料贫困，随着能源价格上限提高，该机构预计到四月份燃料贫困家庭还会再增加200万户。

OVO Energy removed its advice after a wave of angry responses from lawmakers and campaigners.

在遭到立法者和倡导者的愤怒抨击后，OVO能源把他们的建议删除了。

Following the apology, British lawmaker Darren Jones, who chairs Parliament's business select committee, tweeted: "Good, I'm glad they apologised. I'm not sure who signed off a marketing campaign telling people to wear a jumper and eat porridge instead of turning on the heating if you can't afford it."

在道歉声明发布后，英国议员、工商专责委员会主席达伦·琼斯在推特上写道：“很好，我很高兴他们道歉了。我不知道是谁批准了这个营销方案，让人们穿毛衣喝粥而不是打开你没钱支付的暖气。”

Halima Begum, head of race equality think tank the Runnymede Trust, criticized the "offensive" and "inconsiderate" advice, particularly in regards to the exercise suggestion and the implications for those who are disabled.

种族平等智囊机构伦尼米德信托基金会会长哈利马·贝古姆批评这些建议“具有冒犯性”并且“不体谅人”，尤其是关于运动的建议对那些残疾人士的不良暗示。

Begum said half of the 7 million people living in poverty in the UK are disabled or live in a family with a person in a wheelchair. "And they should starjump to maintain their basic right to warmth?" she wrote on Twitter.

贝古姆说，英国700万贫困人口有一半身患残疾或家中有坐轮椅的人。她在推特上写道：“难道他们应该做个开合跳来维护自己取暖的基本权利吗？”

英文来源：有线电视新闻网

翻译&编辑：丹妮