Christian M. 5 min read

What help is available if I’m struggling with my energy bills?

Despite the recent easing in the cost of energy, people across the country are still struggling to combat the rise in energy costs.

Most of the support provided during the energy crisis was time-limited, but here we look at the support that is currently available.

Help available for paying your energy bills:

Here’s a breakdown of what support and help are available to you in these challenging times:

Here are some grants to help pay off your energy debts:

If you are struggling to pay your debt to energy suppliers, there is help out there to manage these debts. These suppliers offer help directly to their customers.

If your supplier doesn’t offer a grant, or you are not eligible for a grant, British Gas offers support from their British Gas Energy Trust. It’s worth contacting them to see if anything is available to you.

Here is how to find local energy grants

If you’re looking for which local energy grants are available to you, you can use the search functionality here at the Simple Energy Advice site. It’s also worth checking your local council to see if you can benefit from regional support grants. Find your local council’s website here.

Visit our guide for business energy grants.

The Winter Fuel Payment

If you were born before 26 September 1955, you are usually eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment. It’s an annual payment to help manage heating costs over the winter months.

When you reach the state pension age, you will automatically get the Winter Fuel Payment, but in rare circumstances, you may need to apply. You can apply by completing this Winter Fuel Payment application.

Energy Price Cap

Ofgem, the energy regulator, imposes a quarterly maximum cap that energy suppliers can charge customers on a standard variable tariff.

Between January and March 2024, the price cap limits the average annual household energy bills to £1,928 per year. In April, the energy price cap will fall by 12% to £1,690.

To find out more, here’s our guide to the energy price cap.

Energy comparison

In August 2023, domestic energy suppliers started to offer fixed tariffs at a discount to the current price cap. Find out how much we can save your home with our energy comparison tool.

To keep up to date with the movements in the energy market, follow our wholesale energy market reports and our in-depth analysis of electricity prices.

Need to check how much you owe on your gas bills? Here’s our automatic gas bill calculator.

Support during the energy crisis

Several schemes were in place to protect households from the rising cost of energy during 2022 and early 2023 but have now ended.  Here’s a list of domestic energy price support schemes that are no longer in operation:

  • Energy Price Guarantee
  • Energy Bill Discount Scheme
  • Warm Home Discount Scheme
  • A fuel voucher for homes not connecting to the electricity or gas mains
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