Funded Energy Redress Projects

The project will address immediate needs of vulnerable energy customers through high quality energy advice, whilst supporting long-term solutions to fuel poverty by increasing engagement in retrofit programmes that will deliver warmer, more fuel-efficient homes.

This project will enable Groundwork’s Green Doctors to continue to respond to the needs of people in fuel poverty in six high need areas across England, providing in-home advice, small energy saving measures, and links to wider services. As part of the project, they will also increase their focus on retrofit opportunities, building retrofit suitability assessments into their energy advice, running awareness-raising events, and partnering with retrofit schemes to target customers who risk missing out on the benefits of warmer, more efficient homes.

They will work with vulnerable residents to understand their circumstances, co-developing tailored action plans to support their retrofit journey. This will include understanding the retrofit process and potential benefits, signposting to available schemes, support during installation, and improving capacity to optimally use new equipment/ measures. Learning will be used to encourage government and retrofit programme leads to routinely invest in inclusive, person-centred approaches, leading to more people benefitting from warmer, healthier homes.

Radio City Association (RCA) are an anchor organisation of local community wealth building activities and are constructing a community owned wind turbine in the hills above Kilbirnie with the purpose of reinvesting any surpluses achieved from the electricity generated back into the community to address the many challenges of the area of the Garnock Valley in North Ayrshire particularly the prevalence of poverty and deprivation, including fuel poverty, and build community capacity to better address educational, employment and health inequalities locally.

RCA secured capital funding from various organisations and funding streams, including the Energy Redress Scheme, to build the first 100% community-owned onshore wind turbine that will operate commercially, without the use of government price support mechanisms.

Owned solely by the community, the turbine will have the capacity to generate 7,839 MWh of clean electricity per year, the equivalent of powering 2,234 average UK homes, once operational. It will also deliver 3,324 tonnes of carbon emissions reductions annually.

The project aims to provide in depth energy saving advice to 1,775 vulnerable households to help them become more financially resilient.

The project will deliver face-to-face support to people most in need, in their communities and their homes. Support will include: comprehensive home surveys, identifying sources of heat loss, damp, leaks, and other issues impacting their home energy use, advice and practical support to switch suppliers/tariffs, alongside supplying and fitting suitable energy saving measures at no cost to them. 

They will also identify other needs that keep people in poverty and refer households to provision to help with health and wellbeing, social isolation, employment, training, financial or other support to take steps to escape financial exclusion and fuel poverty.

The project aims to support 1,500 Big Issue service users and 100 Big Issue Recruit candidates experiencing fuel poverty. Trained energy advisors will provide expert advice to service users and their families facing social and economic barriers which prevent them from accessing help from anywhere else. 

Advisors will provide information and guidance to understand energy costs, payment options and monitoring energy usage. Support service users to reduce energy consumption and take action to address the causes of dampness, insulation and other household issues which contribute to poor living conditions and energy waste. Refer service users to specialist debt and energy advice providers. Support service users to access fuel poverty alleviation, including fuel vouchers, household insulation schemes, Warm Homes Discount and energy saving products.

This project will develop Sparky, an AI-powered chatbot designed to deliver accessible and personalised energy advice through the trusted platform of Citizens Advice. Building on the success of a previously funded project (EnerGenie), Sparky will offer a user-friendly interface where individuals can access instant and reliable information on a wide range of energy-related topics. Sparky will be trained on a comprehensive knowledge base drawn from trusted sources like gov.uk, Ofgem, and Citizens Advice's own extensive resources. For general enquiries, Sparky will efficiently provide accurate and up-to-date information, empowering users to make informed decisions about their energy consumption.

Recognising that many energy-related questions require a nuanced and personalised approach, Sparky incorporates a unique human-in-the-loop feature. When a query necessitates more complex or tailored guidance, Sparky will first present the information to a trained energy adviser at Citizens Advice. Only upon the adviser's approval and potential refinement will the information be relayed to the user. This innovative approach ensures that while Sparky offers efficient self-service for general enquiries, complex cases receive the expert attention they deserve. This not only enhances the accuracy and reliability of the advice provided but also safeguards vulnerable users who may require additional support.

This project aims to significantly increase access to energy advice, promote energy efficiency, and contribute to reducing fuel poverty. By embedding Sparky within the trusted framework of Citizens Advice, they aim to create a more sustainable and equitable energy landscape where everyone can confidently navigate the complexities of the energy market and make informed choices.

Working collaboratively with charity partners and community organisations, the project aims to provide a wrap-around, capacity building, energy support service for over 10,000 vulnerable households across Shropshire, Derbyshire and Herefordshire. 

They will reach the most vulnerable by working with partners in the community; training and supporting partners to provide energy advice directly to their client group, referring to Marches Energy Agency for specialist support.

They will also provide free, expert energy advice, and practical help to vulnerable households on the phone and in person. Delivering enhanced home visits that provide engaging personal advice on energy use in the home and the home’s performance. This includes an appliance survey using their HEAT app and thermal imaging giving meaningful information to see why change is needed and where it can be made.

The project will provide information, advice, and guidance to the deaf community in Derbyshire, in British Sign Language (BSL). Through workshops, outreach events, video calls, and occasional home visits, the Derbyshire deaf community will receive key energy information in their first language. 

Topics covered will include; how to get the best energy deals, how to change your supplier or tariff, ways to save energy in the home, and accessing support such as Priority Services Register and the Warm Homes Discount  Through this project, deaf people in Derbyshire will be informed and thus empowered to save money on energy bills, understand and control their energy use, claim support they are entitled to, and therefore feel more confident and comfortable.

The project aims to deliver energy efficiency support to 400 vulnerable households, in or at risk of fuel poverty, based within the area of Barlanark in the East End of Glasgow. These include single parents, elderly, those who are in ill health or have disabilities, on low income and those unable to make informed decisions, especially when having difficulty paying bills, are at crisis point and are at risk of living in cold homes. 

An Energy Advisor will provide free 1-1 telephone, online and face to face energy advice to tenants and owners. Providing information to enable households to be more energy efficient, understand their energy bills, be able to manage fuel debt, and reduce energy costs within the home and to support in energy resilience.

The project will offer holistic advice and support to vulnerable energy customers, to help them manage their energy accounts, reduce energy consumption, increase energy efficiency, maximise their incomes, and access other services. Support will be delivered through information/awareness-raising events and one-to-one advice offered at Leicester Community Advice and Law Centre (LCALC); at community venues across Leicester; and through home visits. 

Fully-trained energy advisers will support householders to read fuel meters, understand tariffs, check bills, compare and select suitable fuel packages, reduce costs by using energy more efficiently, and raise awareness of additional support schemes. As well as adopt small energy-saving measures, and access grants for home insulation/capital energy-saving measures.

In addition, they will refer to other services, including support to develop financial capability skills and reduce digital exclusion, specialist advice on welfare benefits, debt, housing and immigration. The project will be delivered in partnership with organisations across Leicester, serving communities that experience high levels of economic disadvantage in order to maximise reach and complement existing service provision. 

This project will build on a previously funded project; providing energy advice and support to households in Newport and southeast Wales areas. The project aims to deliver advice and support to around 15,000 households. 

Having previously identified emerging challenges for vulnerable customers to take advantage of modern energy efficient technologies, this project will incorporate a proactive focus on vulnerable customers moving into new energy efficient or retrofitted homes.

In a new initiative in Newport, half of social rented homes are being ring-fenced for customers with a history of homelessness or living in temporary accommodation. The project team will focus on energy related pre and early tenancy work to ensure that these customers are supported with advice, skills, and practical support to prevent them falling into fuel poverty.

They will also continue to work with partners and the wider community, expanding to GP surgeries focusing on the links between fuel poverty and poor health.