Ofgem Energy Redress Scheme awards £10 million to 25 UK organisations supporting vulnerable people and driving carbon reduction

Funds from the latest round of the Ofgem Energy Redress Scheme will be distributed to charities and community energy groups helping households in need across England, Scotland and Wales

In the tenth round of the Ofgem Energy Redress Scheme, more than £10 million in grants is being awarded to 25 charities, community groups and organisations across England, Scotland and Wales. The funding will support projects helping vulnerable households heat and power their homes, as well as initiatives developing innovative energy-related products and services. 

Community charity, Selkirk Regeneration will receive £262,382 to deliver its Sustainable Borders Energy Advice Service. The project will provide energy advice and retrofit assessments to rural communities on the Scottish Borders, offering targeted, tailored support to those most at risk of and impacted by fuel poverty.

Angela MacKellar, Project Coordinator for Sustainable Borders, said: “We believe no-one should be left behind in the transition to net zero and decarbonisation of our homes. This funding will enable our project to expand the depth and coverage of our service, offering retrofit advice to inform energy performance improvements and offer tailored energy efficiency support, that will be widely available to anyone in the Scottish Borders."

South-coast based charity, The Environment Centre is receiving £201,125 to provide its Energy Awareness Hub service, which reaches more than 1,200 vulnerable residents in Swansea each year.

Nia Melding, Senior Energy Awareness Officer for The Environment Centre, said: “This funding will help us continue to provide support for households across Swansea and expand our support to those vulnerable to the cold. Our clients will be able to access our Energy Hub more frequently and will receive more tailored support with new services including Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and retrofit assessments."

To support their Home Energy Service project, Bath & West Community Energy will receive £347,910. The project aims to achieve lasting carbon emissions reductions, by offering ‘deep local’ retrofit support to self-funding households in the local area.

Sara Grimes, Head of Community Business Development for Bath & West Community Energy, said: “Our Home Energy Service takes a community-based approach to providing energy assessments, including for the beautiful historic buildings in our area. 

This funding will enable us to grow; serving more households, supporting them throughout more of their retrofit journey, and ultimately scaling towards financial self-sufficiency.”

Other projects benefiting from funding include the development of a client relationship and case management tool for community energy groups, energy advice services for vulnerable households, and a prototype support model to help organisations develop community energy projects.

Graham Ayling, Senior Project Manager for the Energy Redress Scheme at Energy Saving Trust, said: “We’re pleased to support a wide range of charities to deliver impactful projects, including innovative energy saving solutions and vital advice services helping those most in need stay warm at home.”

Cathryn Scott, Director of Market Oversight and Enforcement at Ofgem, said: “When suppliers break the rules, we use all the tools at our disposal to hold them to account and represent the interests of customers. 

“This work has generated millions in grants, helped thousands of people, and driven real change in the communities that need it most. It’s brilliant to see more organisations committed to tackling fuel poverty and accelerating the transition to net zero benefit from this latest round of funding.”

Since 2018 the Energy Redress Scheme has distributed more than £172 million in funding to support 690 projects in England, Scotland and Wales. The funding is collected through Ofgem’s enforcement and compliance activity, where companies that have breached energy rules agree to make a voluntary payment into the scheme. Energy Saving Trust manages the allocation of payments for the scheme.

Read more about all the funded projects here.