Thousands of UK households struggling to heat their homes will be eligible to receive extra support this winter including free electric blankets and payment holidays from a major energy supplier.
OVO energy, which has 4 million customers across the UK, has committed £56 million to its Extra Support Package to help vulnerable households in the winter months.
Eligible households could receive free energy saving products such as electric blankets, smart sockets and home efficiency kits, as well as other energy efficiency upgrades such as a new boiler or heat pump.
OVO is also offering financial support to customers, such as direct debit reductions, emergency credit top-ups and extended repayment plans.
This comes after Ofgem, the independent energy regulator in the UK, confirmed household energy bills are set to rise by double the amount previously expected from October.
Ofgem’s latest price cap will be two per cent higher than the current one, which will add £35 a year to the typical current annual bill, raising it to £1,775 a year.
Support from OVO will be provided in partnership with Warm Welcome Campaign and StepChange, charities which work to end the fuel poverty crisis in the UK.
While the support is available year-round, applications for enhanced winter support open on October 1.
Since 2022, OVO has provided £190 million in support to customers struggling with winter energy bills and helped 42,000 customers last year.
Fuel poverty in England has risen to 9 million households, a 62 per cent increase since 2020, according to government statistics.
A household is classified as in fuel poverty if its disposable income, after housing and fuel costs, is below the poverty line and if its poverty energy efficiency rating is band D or below according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
New polling conducted by OVO revealed 91 per cent of people are worried about their bills this winter, with seven in 10, or 71 per cent, saying they are more concerned than they were last year.
OVO is calling on the government to introduce a social tariff to protect those who cannot afford to heat their homes through the sustained period of high fuel prices to come.
New research, conducted by the Green Alliance, showed a social tariff offering discounted energy bills to low-income households would lift more people out of poverty than the government’s Warm Home Discount did in 2024.
The government publishes fuel poverty data every year and has been addressing the issue since 2000 when the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act was introduced.
David Buttress, chief executive officer at OVO, said: “We’re providing support to those who need it most by working together with our charity partners and committing our largest ever customer support package.
“But this isn’t a long-term solution. We need to make the energy system work better for everyone. That starts with targeted support in the form of a social tariff – no one can be, or no one needs to be left behind.”
