With freezing temperatures and the price of gas defaulting to 10p for many of us, the daily gas costs can start to look scary. So we thought we would give you a quick recap of the support packages available.
With all the different schemes it can get quite confusing. So here is our breakdown:
1. £400 discount – October 2022 to March 2023
This is a universal payment that every household gets. If you’re on direct debit, this gets taken off your bills. If you have a smart pre-payment meter, this gets credited to your electricity account.
Please note in the HUGO app we do not display or account for the £400 credit as this is temporary measure.
2. Cold Weather Payment
With the cold weather payment, you can get £25 to help with heating bills for each seven-day period of freezing weather between November to March. So this payment will now be triggered and anyone eligible could claim it. To find out if you’re eligible click the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment/eligibility
3. Warm Home Discount & Household Support Fund
The Warm Home Discount – this is a £150 discount on your bills based on a means tested criteria. To see if your eligible click the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/check-if-youre-eligible-for-warm-home-discount
There is also help from the Household Support Fund from your local council. It is worth a check to see if you’re eligible under your local council’s rules – you can find your local council here and details of their Household Support Fund will be on their website.
4. Supplier Hardship Funds.
There are supplier hardship funds available and we have listed the links to the main supplier’s website below. Again it is worth checking what each of these funds is prepared to offer.
British Gas Website
EDF website
E.on Next website
Octopus website
Ovo website
Scottish Power website
Citizens Advice Bureau
5. Charity Support Winter
There are many great charities out there providing help, support and advice. One we really recommend is:
National Energy Action (NEA). The NEA is a national fuel poverty and energy efficiency charity that offers a free support service known as WASH (Warm and Safe Homes).
6. HUGO’s Energy Tips Section
Whilst it is not the most sophisticated part of the app (but this is changing) our TIPS section has 400 user created tips. You can search by subject, top-rated tips or most recently added tips, and save your favourites.
7. Winter Fuel Payment (Not to be confused with the Warm Home Discount or any other scheme above)
You can only get a Winter Fuel Payment if you were born before 26 September 1956. More details are available below, if you want to check your getting the full entitlement.
https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/report-change-circumstances
Please forward this email to anyone who might benefit from this information.
Otherwise, stay warm and safe and we will see you on the other side.
