Eighty percent of low income households are worried about energy bills

This winter, Citizens Advice is offering record levels of support to vulnerable people who are struggling with their energy bills. Thirty eight per cent of people told the charity that, before getting help from the programme, they couldn’t heat their homes enough to be comfortable.

Energy Best Deal returns this year, a record £5 million pounds will go to fund the project. Extra cash will be used to roll out additional support, which will give tailored, one to one advice to people who are struggling to make ends meet. Energy Best Deal Extra will help people cut the cost of fuel bills, sort out debts, solve benefit problems and help with the search for work.

New figures released today are based on a survey of over 6,000 people who received help from Energy Best Deal, a programme run by Citizens Advice and funded by the energy industry to help people on low incomes cut their fuel bills.

  • Four in five people (78 per cent) told Citizens Advice that they were concerned about the cost of their winter fuel bills

  • Only one in five (21 per cent) said they were not worried about the cost of heating their home

  • 17 per cent said that their fuel bills were ‘a strain’

  • Over a quarter (26 per cent) said that they were unable to heat their home because of the high cost of fuel

  • 12 per cent blamed inefficient heating or homes which leak energy

Citizens Advice Bureaux have helped over 72,000 people with fuel issues in the past year.

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of national charity Citizens Advice, said:

“No-one should have to face a winter in a cold, dark home .Vulnerable people are risking their well-being because they are anxious about bills. It’s extremely worrying that eighty per cent of people on low incomes are concerned about the cost of energy.

“Many people feel like they have no choice but to cut their energy use if they need to reduce their bills, but there is other action you can take. That’s why we’re running Energy Best Deal to make sure that people aren’t paying a penny more than they need to for fuel this winter. We’ll be out and about in local communities throughout the winter helping people to make sure that they are getting the best deal, avoiding waste and making the most of the help available from the energy industry and the Government.”

115 CAB in England and Wales and 21 CAB in Scotland will run workshops to help people cut their bills. Last year three quarters of people took action to cut their bills after attending a workshop. Forty three per cent of people who attended a workshop said that they had contacted their supplier to get a better deal, 27 per cent applied for help through the Warm Homes Discount, ECO or the Green Deal and 28 per cent said they would pass on their knowledge to help friends and family save.

To see if you can get help from the Energy Best Deal Programme, get in touch with your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

Energy top tips

1.Check your bills carefully and read your meter regularly. This will allow you to check how much energy you use and make sure you’re paying the right amount.

2.Talk to your supplier if you think your bill is wrong or if you have problems paying. They’ll be able to give you advice about available support or talk you through repayment options.

3.If money is tight, contact your local CAB. They can check to see if you are getting the benefits you are entitled to, or if you can get help paying your bills.

4.Make sure that you’re on the cheapest tariff.  Check with your supplier and use an accredited switching website to see who’s offering the best deal. Tariffs are changing in 2014 so it is important that you are aware of your current deal and any changes your supplier is planning.

5.Most energy suppliers offer fixed price tariffs, where the price of a unit of energy will stay the same for the length of the deal. These can work out cheaper in the long term and make it easier to budget – although you might need to pay by direct debit and your bills will still go up if you use more energy.

6.If you use a pre-payment meter, remember that standing charges will be added daily - even when you aren’t using energy. Check how much they are and keep your meter topped up even during warm weather to avoid unexpected charges

7.If you use heating oil as your main fuel, buy before winter and see if there are any local oil buying clubs you can join. If not, you might want to start your own.

8.Make your home energy efficient – insulate lofts and walls, double glaze or use thick curtains to keep the heat in, and get your boiler serviced or replaced to ensure it is energy efficient. There are schemes to help with this.

9.Save money and energy – don’t leave appliances on standby or leave laptops and mobile phones on charge unnecessarily. Fix leaking taps and always turn off the light when you leave a room.

10.Do a home energy check to find out about savings on household energy bills.

-ends-

Notes to editors:

  1. Citizens Advice has secured £4,885,000 for Energy Best Deal delivery commencing this winter.  The money is made up of donations and grants from British Gas, EDF Energy, First Utility, ScottishPower, SSE, Utility Warehouse and UK Power Networks.

  2. Citizens Advice predicts that at least 11,000 consumers and frontline workers will be directly trained at 1,225 Energy Best Deal group sessions in England, Wales and Scotland. 192 agencies, comprising 115 CAB and 77 other organisations in England and Wales and 21 CAB in Scotland will deliver the sessions.

  3. Most Bureaux will offer Energy Best Deal Extra appointments which will help around 30,000 people.

  4. Citizens Advice and other delivery partners surveyed 6,086 people who took part in an Energy Best Deal session between October 2013 and April 2014. The results were independently analysed by The Centre for Sustainable energy.

  5. This year the Citizens Advice service celebrates its 75th anniversary. We’ve planned a year of activity running from January to December 2014.  Contact the press office on 03000 231 080, or via email at press.office@citizensadvice.org.uk, to find out more.

  6. The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local bureaux, all of which are independent charities, the Citizens Advice consumer service and national charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more see the Citizens Advice website.

  7. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.

  8. To find your local bureau in England and Wales, visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk. You can also get advice online at www.adviceguide.org.uk You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers

  9. Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2.1 million clients on 6.6 million problems from April 2012 to March 2013. For full 2012/2013 service statistics see our quarterly publication Advice trends

  10. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 22,000 trained volunteers, working at over 3,000 service outlets across England and Wales.