Can you afford to heat your home?
Fuel poverty is an issue that affects 1 in 10 people in households in England. The reasons for fuel poverty can vary and anyone can be affected.
This week we’re sending out a short survey to our residents inviting you to take part and say whether you have ever experienced financial difficulty when it comes to keeping your home warm.
Survey
The survey includes questions that ask about any heating worries you have, fuel payment methods, the cost to heat your home and if you have been in contact with your energy provider.
These questions are designed to help us understand more about the number of settle residents who may be having trouble in paying their energy bills and help us put appropriate support in place. The survey will be anonymous, should take around 5 minutes to complete and will be open until May 14.
How we can help
We can provide extra support with essential items like topping up your gas and electricity and give advice on steps to take if you are having financial difficulty when it comes to heating your home, including:
- Financial assistance: where low-income or pension-age households struggle to afford heating, you can be referred for a warm home discount to reduce the energy bill. Sometimes we refer customers to the local Citizens Advice for support with this.
- Contact the energy company: The Energy Company Obligation means your energy provider must help you to pay off any debts on your energy bill. They can also help with moving your energy meter, changing the way you receive bills or switching providers. Again, we can refer you to Citizens Advice who can support you with this.
- Improve the efficiency of our homes: where radiators aren’t warming up properly, they might need bleeding. You can ask us to do this if you’re not sure how. Your boiler should be serviced every 10 months, and this is an opportunity for our engineers to provide tips on how to use it cost effectively.
Focus group
If you’d like to take part in an interview or focus group to discuss your experience with this issue, please contact us . You can also get in touch if you need help with your heating situation or another issue.
