If you come from a low-income or vulnerable household, you may be struggling to afford your energy bills. However, there are a number of Government provided grants and discounts that can help you stay warm this winter.
This guide will take you through what’s available, and how to work out whether you are eligible. It will also run through any other help you can get from your energy provider, along with some tips on cutting your energy costs.
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Struggling to keep up with energy payments this year is stressful, but thankfully there are safety nets available. The government offers a number of energy schemes that can help you out as the cold sets in and the bills rack up.
There are a number of grants and discounts available:
This is aimed at older people (born on or before 5 April 1954) to help afford energy bills, and can save you between £100 and £300 every year.
The government will give you £25 off your energy bills for every winter week that qualifies as ‘cold weather’. This is decided by finding the average temperature outside near you for 7 days in a row. If this is below 0 degrees Celsius then the discount will be provided. In the Winter of 2018/19, there were 4 weeks like this.
This scheme allows you to pay for energy directly out of certain benefits you receive.
The warm home discount a one-off discount provided by the Government and supplied through your energy provider. It is worth £140 and is aimed at low-income households.
There are a different set of eligibility criteria for each of the schemes described above. You should check and see if you fall into any of them in order to get as much help as possible.
As mentioned above, the warm home discount is available if you were born on or before 5 April 1954. You must also have been living in the UK for a given ‘qualifying week’ each year. Most recently this was 16 – 22 September 2019. It’s worth noting that there are a number of circumstances where you won’t be allowed to receive this payment, so you should phone your supplier to check if you are eligible.
You may be eligible for these payments if you receive one of a number of benefits. These are: Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income Support, Mortgage Interest Support, or Income-related Employment and Support Allowance.
You will qualify for this if you receive any of the benefits mentioned for the Cold Weather Payment.
You will qualify this if you are a member of one of two groups:
You should remember that the criteria above are not necessarily exhaustive, so it’s always worth phoning your supplier to double check if you can qualify for any of the schemes.
There may be specific help available from your supplier through the Affordable Warmth Obligation. This is for those living in social or private housing who also claim certain benefits. Some of these qualifying benefits are listed under the eligibility criteria for the Cold Weather Payment above, but there are many others that may qualify you for this scheme. Some examples include working tax credit and child tax credit.
Your provider, under this Obligation, can provide financial support in two ways:
Firstly, you can get a free boiler service or replacement. This will make your heating far more efficient and could save you hundreds every year.
Secondly, your supplier can provide insulation for your walls or loft. This will keep the heat in, meaning it costs less to heat your home and keep it at that temperature.
If you fall behind with your payments, there are also some grants offered by energy providers to help with your arrears. You should note that these are relatively new and un-tested, and you will have to go through a fairly rigorous process of proving your income and how you came to be in arrears. It may take a few weeks to process and will be done on a case-by-case basis, prioritising those most in need.
There are a number of things you can do yourself to help keep costs down.