Any person spending more than 10% of their total income on fuel is deemed to live in "fuel poverty". Living in fuel poverty can seriously affect a person’s health and contributes to the ever increasing number of excess winter mortalities. The issue of fuel poverty has become more and more visible in the media over the past few years and this winter one in six British households is affected by it, the highest for almost a decade.
At npower, we offer a variety of initiatives and services to help customers who are struggling with their energy bills.
We now have the npower energy fund, which replaced the First Step programme. You will need to ensure that you can keep up payments for consumption for six consecutive months. If you are eligible, the scheme can help in two ways:
1. Grants to clear gas and/or electricity debts through a provisional award scheme
2. Grants for other essential costs (household debts or needs) through Further Assistance Payments
For more information about the npower energy fund you can visit here.
Another way we can help is through The Health Through Warmth (HTW) scheme that was set up by npower in 2000 in partnership with the NHS and National Energy Action (NEA). HTW operates through locally based partnerships which seek to help vulnerable people whose health is adversely affected by cold, damp living conditions. To see if HTW operates in your area, please visit here.
Our Warm Home Discount scheme offers eligible npower customers an annual benefit of £120 (Inclusive of VAT) on their electricity bill. More details can be found here or to check eligibility and to apply, call us on 0808 172 6999.
We also offer advice on Energy Efficiency and would advise all our customers to check that they are on the correct tariff and that they are using the correct and best payment method for them.
Useful links:
http://www.nea.org.uk
www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Inretirement/DG_10018668
www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/What-can-I-do-today/Energy-saving-grants-and-offers
www.government-grants.co.uk/free-loft-insulation.shtml
