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WINTER is connected the mode and that means vigor bills going up for millions - but determination are ways to get assistance if you're struggling.
The new terms headdress is coming into effect from tomorrow, erstwhile the mean household volition commencement paying £149 much a twelvemonth for their energy.
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And with the colder months drafting in, astir households volition commencement utilizing much energy to support lukewarm too.
But you mightiness not beryllium alert determination are a big of freebies connected connection to assistance you tackle your bills. Here is each the assistance you tin get.
Energy grants
Several energy firms person assistance schemes available to customers struggling to screen their bills.
But eligibility criteria varies depending connected the supplier and the magnitude you tin get depends connected your fiscal circumstances.
Read much connected Energy Bills
For example, British Gas customers struggling to wage their energy bills tin get grants worthy up to £2,000.
Ovo Energy, E.ON, Octopus and Scottish Power each person their ain schemes wherever you tin get money towards the outgo of bills too.
It's worthy speaking to your supplier to spot what assistance is astatine hand.
How to chopped vigor costs and get assistance with FOUR cardinal household bills
Free electrical blankets and money-saving gadgets
Octopus Energy is offering customers escaped electrical blankets through its £30million Octopus Assist fund.
The vigor firm, which services astir 7 cardinal households, is dishing retired the money-saving gadgets to the astir vulnerable.
This means those astir apt to person assistance are the aged and those with mobility issues oregon different aesculapian conditions.
You should interaction Octopus to find retired if you're eligible for help.
Ovo Energy is besides offering money-saving gadgets to households through a £50million lawsuit enactment package.
Customers struggling to wage bills tin get entree to escaped energy-saving items similar electrical throws and mattress toppers.
The firms' bundle besides includes outgo holidays for prepayment metre customers and nonstop fiscal support.
The bundle opens tomorrow, October 1, but Ovo’s website is already unrecorded for customers to cheque if they’re eligible for help.
Free boilers
Thousands of households connected benefits tin get assistance applying for escaped and inexpensive boilers through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO).
Help is offered connected a case-by-case basis, but it tin mean having a caller boiler fitted, oregon loft oregon cavity partition insulation enactment in, often for free.
A fig of vigor companies are signed up to the scheme:
- British Gas
- E (Gas and Electricity) LTd
- E.ON
- Ecotricity
- EDF
- Octopus Energy
- Outfox the Market
- OVO
- Scottish Power
- Shell Energy
- So Energy (including ESB Energy)
- The Utility Warehouse
- Utilita Energy
You lone suffice for the ECO strategy nether definite circumstances, for illustration if you assertion definite benefits.
You tin find retired much astir the strategy via Ofgem's website.
Free star panels
Some councils connection low-income households wealth towards making their location greener.
And immoderate connection grants to instal star panels, which could prevention you astir £6,000.
The Sun spoke to pensioner Gareth Hodgson, who applied for tens of thousands of pounds of free location improvements that have nearly halved his bills.
The assistance you tin get from your section assembly varies depending connected respective factors including your idiosyncratic circumstances.
In astir areas, homeowners indispensable person a full income of little than £30,000 to get the help.
Your location indispensable person an EPC standing of D, E, F oregon G for you to beryllium eligible too.
Free energy-efficient showerheads
A fig of h2o companies connection households escaped h2o and energy-saving gadgets similar regulated ablution heads worthy £20.
The Energy Saving Trust says switching to a water-efficient ablution caput tin prevention a household of 4 connected a h2o metre £195 a twelvemonth connected bills.
This is due to the fact that little vigor is needed to pump, vigor and dainty the water. The magnitude you'll prevention depends connected your circumstances.
To get clasp of the money-saving showerheads, you conscionable person to sojourn the Save Money Save Water website wherever you person to capable successful a abbreviated survey astir your h2o usage.
You are past redirected to your h2o supplier's website to assertion immoderate freebies.
Not each h2o companies connection the freebies though, including Anglian, Essex and Suffolk, Northumbrian oregon Thames Water.
That said, you tin sometimes get the freebies by heading nonstop to their websites.
Household Support Fund
The latest circular of Household Support Fund is worthy £421million and has been shared betwixt councils successful England.
They past determine however to administer that share, though successful astir cases assistance is offered to those connected a debased income oregon benefits specified arsenic Universal Credit.
In immoderate case, you person to use done your section council, which you tin find by utilizing the Government's assembly locator instrumentality online.
Some section authorities are handing retired vigor vouchers portion others are making slope transfers.
Councils person until March 31 adjacent twelvemonth to allocate their stock of the latest fund.
Cold upwind payment
Cold upwind payments are made to hard-up households erstwhile determination is simply a seven-day play of sub zero temperatures.
The wealth is paid by the Department for Work and Pensions and designed to screen other costs incurred by colder weather.
The strategy runs betwixt November 1 and March 31, though eligible households don't person to use arsenic wealth is paid automatically if you qualify.
However, it's worthy taking enactment of who qualifies, which is anyone connected 1 of the pursuing benefits:
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Income Support
- income-based jobseeker’s allowance
- income-related employment and enactment allowance
- Support for mortgage interest
You whitethorn person to conscionable different criteria too, including:
- Having a disability or beryllium successful receipt of pension premium
- Having a kid who is disabled
- Receiving kid taxation recognition that includes a disablement oregon terrible disablement element
- Having a terrible oregon enhanced disablement premium
- Being successful receipt of a constricted capableness for enactment amount
- Having a kid nether 5 surviving with you
You tin work much astir eligibility connected the Government's website.
Winter heating payment
The wintertime heating outgo replaces the acold upwind outgo for households successful Scotland and is worthy £58.75.
To get the outgo you indispensable get 1 of the pursuing benefits during the qualifying week:
- Universal Credit
- Pension Credit
- Income Support
- Income based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income Related Employment Support Allowance
- Support for Mortgage Interest
This year's qualifying week was November 4 to November 10, 2024.
You besides person to conscionable 1 different circumstantial request of your qualifying benefits.
For example, you volition person a outgo if you are connected income-based Jobseeker's Allowance oregon Income Support and person immoderate of the following:
- a disablement premium
- a terrible disablement premium
- a pensioner premium
- the disablement constituent of Child Tax Credit
- a kid nether five
The large quality betwixt the wintertime heating outgo and acold upwind outgo is that you person the £58.75 careless of the weather.
Warm location discount
Millions of households in England, Wales and Scotland tin get £150 deducted disconnected their vigor bills done the Warm Home Discount.
This wintertime the wealth volition beryllium taken disconnected your measure betwixt October and March 2025.
You'll request to person 1 oregon much of the pursuing benefits to qualify:
- Income support
- Income-based jobseeker's allowance
- Income-related employment and enactment allowance
- Housing benefit
- Universal Credit
- Child tax credit
- Working taxation credits
- Pension recognition guaranteed
- Pension recognition savings credit
Eligible households in England and Wales don't person to use for the discount, though immoderate successful Scotland do.
Scottish residents should cheque with their vigor supplier straight to spot if they suffice for the discount.
Winter Fuel Payment
The Winter Fuel Payment is worthy up to £300 each wintertime and paid to those connected definite benefits.
It utilized to beryllium disposable to those of authorities pension property and older, but has now been made means-tested by the Government.
Most of those eligible for the outgo are paid automatically and don't request to apply.
The up to £300 outgo is usually made successful November oregon December.
What is the Winter Fuel Payment?
Consumer newsman Sam Walker explains each you request to cognize astir the payment.
The Winter Fuel Payment is an yearly tax-free payment designed to assistance screen the outgo of heating done the colder months.
Most who are eligible person the outgo automatically.
Those who suffice are usually told via a missive sent successful October oregon November each year.
If you bash conscionable the criteria but don't automatically get the Winter Fuel Payment, you volition person to apply on the government's website.
You'll suffice for a Winter Fuel Payment this wintertime if:
- you were calved connected oregon earlier September 23, 1958
- you lived successful the UK for astatine slightest 1 time during the week of September 16 to 22, 2024, known arsenic the "qualifying week"
- you person Pension Credit, Universal Credit, ESA, JSA, Income Support, Child Tax Credit oregon Working Tax Credit
If you did not unrecorded successful the UK during the qualifying week, you mightiness inactive get the outgo if some the pursuing apply:
- you unrecorded successful Switzerland oregon a EEA country
- you person a "genuine and sufficient" nexus with the UK societal information system, specified arsenic having lived oregon worked successful the UK and having a household successful the UK
But determination are exclusions - you can’t get the outgo if you unrecorded successful Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal oregon Spain.
This is due to the fact that the mean wintertime somesthesia is higher than the warmest portion of the UK.
You volition besides not suffice if you:
- are successful infirmary getting escaped attraction for much than a year
- need support to participate the UK and your granted permission states that you tin not assertion nationalist funds
- were successful situation for the full "qualifying week"
- lived successful a attraction location for the full clip betwixt 26 June to 24 September 2023, and got Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance oregon income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Payments are usually made betwixt November and December, with immoderate made up until the extremity of January the pursuing year.
Do you person a wealth occupation that needs sorting? Get successful interaction by emailing [email protected].
Plus, you tin articulation our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook radical to stock your tips and stories
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