MILLIONS of households could qualify for free money and subsidies worth up to £6,000 – a crucial lifeline as the cost of living crisis worsens.
It’s because the latest forecasts show energy bills could hit £4,000 next year, pushing half of all homeowners in fuel poverty.
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The rising price of energy is pegged to wholesale gas prices, which hit a record high of 530p per therm on Wednesday after Russia cut supplies to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
While millions of households get £400 have declined their bills to help with the cost increase, many people are still struggling to make ends meet.
But there’s other help you can claim – some of it worth up to £6,000.
We have listed all the grants that can help you with your bills:
Household Support Fund
The Household Support Fund used to be launched in October last year to help Britons get through the winter.
It was supposed to start in March, but has since been extended until September.
As part of the scheme, municipalities across the country have been awarded a £1.5bn slice of funding.
But it’s on individual councils how they distribute it.
That means some will hand out free cash and others will send residents discount codes or supermarket vouchers – it really depends on where you live.
For example, Herefordshire council has been allocated over £1 million for its HSF and distributed one-off payments of £60 to residents in the area.
To be eligible you had to live in Herefordshire, be on a low income and receive Universal Credit.
Ealing Council handed out £25 supermarket vouchers for some families in the area – so you may also see changes in eligibility depending on where you live.
You need to go to your municipality’s website to find out if you qualify for the HSF.
In some cases, payments are made automatically for residents who receive means-tested benefits, so there is no need to do anything.
But others have to apply for the support directly from their competent municipality.
It is therefore always worthwhile to consult the website of your municipality.
Housing Upgrade Subsidy
Households with poor insulation and outdated heating systems can save up to £200 thanks to a government scheme.
Hundreds of thousands of people overpay by as much as £246 heating costs due to poor insulation alone.
Meanwhile, it is believed that families in homes with lower energy efficiency classes suffer the most from global gas price increases.
The government announced in February that a new Home Upgrade grant of £67 million will help as many as 4,300 households to become more energy efficient.
But only the worst-performing, low-income gas homes, ranging from D to G energy performance certificates, are eligible for the new upgrades.
If eligible, they will have measures such as wall and roof insulation installed, as well as install new low-carbon heating systems, thermostats and room heating controls.
Households are expected to receive the upgrades by the end of March next year.
However, the financing itself will be delegated to local councils so you will need to contact yours to claim the energy efficient assistance.
Funds for Energy Problems
Hardened households can get extra money to cover the rising costs of gas and electricity – a number of providers, including British Gas, offer hardship subsidies.
Every schedule varies and we have already collected a few.
For example, the British Gas scheme does not require you to be a customer to receive grants of up to £1,500, which are distributed to the most deprived.
You can request the help via the British Gas Energy Trust website.
To be eligible you must have an energy debt you want to clean up and have searched help from a money servicesuch as Citizen’s Advice or Stepchange.
Also, you must not have received a grant from the British Gas Energy Trust in the past two years.
And remember that it may take some time to review your application – you won’t get the money right away.
Boiler upgrade schedule
Households who want to upgrade their home can apply for a free money grant worth up to £6,000.
The scheme will help people replace old gas heating with newer, greener technology.
Gas boilers may soon be banned to reduce CO2 emissions.
To encourage people to go for greener options, the government offers grants for installation heat pumps to help cover costs.
Heat pumps are a greener way to heat your home and can protect your energy bills at.
To cover the costs, you can apply for a subsidy through the boiler upgrade scheme, namely: now open for applications.
You can get up to £6,000 to cover the cost of a ground source heat pump or £5,000 for an air source heat pump.
According to Energy Helplineair pumps are usually cheaper, with purchase and installation costs between £8,000 and £14,000.
Ground source heat pumps are much more expensive at £15,000 to £25,000, although the price for both will depend on the size of your home.
You can save money with up to £5,000 for a biomass boiler, which uses natural materials such as wood pellets to power heating and hot water, if you live in a rural area.
All grants can be spent on the cost of the device itself and the installation costs – you do not have to pay the money back.
If the heat pump or boiler costs more, you have to pay the rest of the costs yourself.
The scheme is available in England and Wales until 2025 and you must own the home you are in to be eligible.
You will not get the money immediately, you have to find a heat pump installer who is registered with the scheme and who applies for the subsidy on your behalf.
The amount will then be deducted from your invoice for the work.
Cold weather payment
The payment in cold weather The scheme is only open between November 1 and March 31 of each year to cover the winter months.
If the temperature reaches zero degrees Celsius or below for at least seven days, some households are eligible for a payment of £25 to cover essential costs.
However, this grant is only available to retirees.
To be eligible, you must claim one of the following:
You can check if your area owes a payment using the government online tool.
Winter fuel discount
All low-income retirees are eligible for an additional £300 winter payment to land on accounts between November and December.
It comes on top of the existing Payment winter fuel are worth between £100 and £300 that are more than state pension getting old.
Those with the lowest incomes who Pension credit are eligible for the one-off payment of £650 for those on benefits.
Together with the £300 payment, that would add up to £950.
And people with disabilities also get a one-time payment of £150.
That means the most vulnerable in old age can get as much as £1,100.
If you qualify for the cost of living of £650 you will automatically have the first installment worth € 326.
The second half will come later in the year, although we don’t have an exact date yet.