Hundreds of thousands of struggling households in Great Britain risk missing out on government help to pay their energy bills this winter if they fail to make an application for financial support that opens on Monday, according to fuel poverty activists.
About 800,000 bill payers missed out on an energy bill rebate of £150 last winter through the government’s warm home discount after complex changes were made to the scheme, said National Energy Action.
The fuel poverty charity said the changes meant that about 500,000 were no longer eligible for the scheme despite receiving it in previous years, and a further 300,000 had missed out after being left “baffled by the complexity” of the new scheme.
Peter Smith, a director at National Energy Action, said: “There were hopes that the warm home discount would help all eligible households automatically. While this is the case for some households, the need to apply to your supplier in Scotland or prove you live in a ‘higher energy cost home’ in England and Wales is creating unnecessary complexity and an unfair postcode lottery.”
Smith said many vulnerable households were being asked to provide an energy performance certificate (EPC) as part of their application for the support.
“An EPC can cost over £100, when the rebate is only worth £150. This is money the poorest don’t have, and too many people just give up hope of being helped. It’s so frustrating for them and our advisers. After all, the people who are missing out are paying for the policy through their energy bills but still aren’t benefiting,” he said.
Households are expected to face a difficult winter as a result of the soaring cost of energy. From October, the level of the government’s energy price cap dropped to £1,834 a year for a typical annual dual-fuel energy bill, from the previous figure of £2,074 a year. However, bill payers are likely to remain under pressure after ministers ended a scheme that automatically paid all households £400 towards their energy bills last winter.
In its place the government will offer targeted support including a £900 payment for those on means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioners and an extra £150 for disabled people. These are in addition to the £150 payment available through the warm home discount.
Lisa Pollitt, an energy adviser at National Energy Action, said: “Due to changes to the warm home discount scheme, I have spoken to too many people who can’t afford their heating and who have missed out. People who are already saddled with unmanageable energy debts. Every day we are hearing harrowing stories of the cutbacks these people are being forced to make. It’s vital vulnerable households who are still eligible don’t miss out on this energy crisis support again this winter.”
Figures published this week by the Office for National Statistics are expected to show that the headline rate of UK inflation fell slightly to 6.5% in September from 6.7% in August.
While a fall in inflation in recent months has been welcomed by policymakers, it still remains well above the Bank of England’s official 2% target, keeping the pressure on households struggling with rising prices in a prolonged cost of living crisis.
