Contact our team for more information about how we help Charities, Community Interest Companies, Co-operative Societies and Community Benefit Societies.
08 Jan 2019
--- Fifteen UK based charities will receive a cash allocation from the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme ---
Today, Energy Saving Trust has awarded more than £2.1million to 15 charities across the UK as part of the Energy Redress Scheme, which redistributes voluntary payments from UK energy companies.
Charities such as Bioregional, Cumbria Action for Sustainability and Clackmannanshire Citizens Advice Bureau have all been successful in their applications to the Energy Redress Fund, and have been awarded sums of money between £42,000 and £334,000.
The successful projects include delivering energy advice to vulnerable households, working with the health sector to support people at risk from cold damp homes, installing innovative heat networks and developing new software to enable low income households to purchase discounted energy generated locally.
The scheme received 75 applications in this round from a wide range of charities, seeking over £14 million in funding.
Mike Thornton, group director of operations at Energy Saving Trust said: “This significant pot of money is being invested in projects and charities that really make a difference in local communities. Most of the projects will run for the next two years and will result in thousands of households saving energy, money and living in warmer, more efficient homes.”
The local charities who are in receipt of funding from the Redress fund are:
| Charity | Location | Funding | Project summary |
| Beat the Cold | East Midlands (Staffordshire) | £138,973 | Staffs Frailty Hub - Affordable Warmth: This project will support 1,000 households who are vulnerable to the risks of cold-related illnesses. Home energy advice and practical support will be offered to households, as well as using associated partners to educate on the health impacts of fuel poverty and poor housing across the health sector. |
| Bioregional | London and South East | £334,755 | Levelling the renewable playing field: This is a project that aims to bring affordable renewable energy to disadvantaged customers including those on pre-pay meters through the development of new software. |
| Birmingham Disability Resource Centre | Midlands | £150,000 | Warm, Safe and Sound Programme: The project will provide workshops, advice and tailored learning materials to over 1,900 people with disabilities or long-term health conditions. The aim is to help these people become informed and efficient energy consumers, reducing the risk of fuel poverty. |
| Centre for Sustainable Energy | Somerset | £80,807 | Home Energy Advice for Rural Tenants (HEART): By working with 2,000 vulnerable households and landlords, this project will provide a range of advice on energy bills to tenants while helping landlords and agencies to improve the energy efficiency of rental properties. |
| Clackmannanshire Citizens Advice Bureau LTD | Central Scotland | £42,012 | The Local Energy Advice Project (LEAP) will assist 1,400 vulnerable households experiencing issues with rising utility bills. One-to-one sessions will be delivered to help educate people on how best to manage rising utility costs, avoiding fuel poverty. |
| Cumbria Action for Sustainability | Cumbria | £190,270 | Cold to Cosy Homes: The project will help 600 households in Cumbria cut the costs of heating their home. Home Energy advisors will provide in-home energy assessments as well as face to face and telephone advice to improved energy saving and draught proofing measures. |
| The Energy Advisory Service SCIO | Western Isles in Scotland | £202,809 | Energy in transition Western Isles: This project will see The Energy Advisory Service host a roadshow, conduct home visits and introduce a referral programme, aimed at reducing fuel poverty in more than 1,000 remote households across the Western Isles. |
| Greener Kirkcaldy | Fife, Scotland | £149,748 | It's curtains for cold homes: From developing a local team of Energy Champions, to installing energy saving measures in households, this project aims to reach more than 8,000 homes and lift people out of fuel poverty in Fife. |
| Groundwork London | London, Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex | £291,151 | Home Energy Advice Reinforced with Technology (HEART): The project will provide energy advice to over 1,300 vulnerable households as well as trialling three technology tools for consumers aimed at reducing spending and energy use. |
| Groundwork North Wales | Wrexham, Conwy, Gwynedd | £55,013 | Energy Skills for Life: The project will engage with secondary school students, and those who have recently begun living independently, in order to equip them with a better understanding on how to manage energy use and costs. |
| Iona Renewables | Island of Iona in the Highlands and Islands | £183,700 | Iona Heat Network: This is the first example of a community driven, and owned, Heat Network – with the Redress funding will helping to support the domestic heat network element. This project aims to be explore how to decarbonise heat, and address energy vulnerability in inaccessible areas such as the Inner Hebrides. |
| Marches Energy Agency | Derby & Derbyshire | £69,698 | Warmer Derby and Derbyshire: The project will provide support and phone advice for vulnerable customers in Derbyshire as well as home visits to install low cost energy saving measures. |
| Severn Wye Energy Agency (SWEA) | Gloucestershire | £60,000 | Warm and Well: This project, in collaboration with NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group and SWEA Caring for Communities and People, will support 1,500 local households in making their homes warmer and more comfortable. |
| Speakup Self Advocacy Ltd | South Yorkshire | £78,504 | Prioritise Me: The project will develop training package for people with learning disabilities or autism. The package will support people who wish to learn about the energy market and how best to understand it. |
| The Wise Group | Lanarkshire Scotland | £118,039 | Energy Shredders: The project will work with attendees from Men’s Sheds in North and South Lanarkshire. The project aims to give out energy advice to people, and empower them to educate the wider community. |
Katie Reville, Development Officer for the Redress scheme said: “Reading through the applications was truly inspiring, as there is so much amazing work going on across England, Scotland and Wales to reduce fuel poverty and help people engage with the rapidly changing energy marketplace. We could only fund 15 projects in this round, but thankfully we’re about to launch Round 3, with a further pot of £500,000 on Tuesday 8th January 2018.”
The fund is administered by Energy Saving Trust, and aims to distribute available funds to support energy consumers in vulnerable situations and the development of products or services which would provide a benefit for certain groups of energy consumers.
Officially named ‘The Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Fund’ – the fund collects voluntary payments from energy companies to redress harm caused to energy consumers and is regulated by Ofgem - the independent energy regulator for Great Britain.
For more information on the Energy Redress Scheme visit www.energyredress.org.uk