Funded Energy Redress Projects

The project will provide an Energy Awareness Hub (EAH) service that annually reaches over 1,200 vulnerable residents within the City and County of Swansea.

The Hub will be open 3 days a week for drops ins and referrals from people seeking support and advice. Ranging from issues with energy suppliers, fuel debt, and income maximisation, to energy efficiency and eligibility for energy schemes.

They will work closely with front line staff in third sector organisations to reach those most in need of support, including colleagues within Swansea Council.

Energy support will also be offered 'on-the-road' in locations around Swansea, including advice sessions at libraries, talks at community venues, and information sessions for members of third sector organisations and groups. 

Eligible residents will be able to access Warm Packs which include LED lighting, draft excluders, radiator reflectors and keys, and timer plugs. 

They will also visit vulnerable customers in their homes to complete Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), retrofit assessments or heat loss surveys and provide 1:1 support needed to undertake the recommendations that are identified. They aim to address the root cause of energy related concerns and reduce the number of residents who find themselves in vulnerable situations.

Building on the success of a previously funded project, they aim to reduce carbon emissions from “hard to heat” homes across Surrey, with a focus on the 300,000 homes that are currently EPC D or below or without an EPC. They will achieve carbon reduction by improving the energy efficiency of homes and encouraging their move towards cleaner energy. 

Using their existing network of trusted, community organisations, they will deliver in three key areas: 

• Providing residents with accessible advice and information on home retrofit, through a programme of local events and delivery of 1,600 home energy surveys.
• Directly providing tailored, low-cost energy efficiency measures for immediate installation, including draught-proofing, radiator foils, LED bulbs and loft insulation.
• Providing a referral gateway to other support services and funding opportunities and connecting residents with trusted assessors and suppliers. 

The most vulnerable residents will be referred to HEAT Plus, an additional service which provides up to 5 hours of support with the process of applying for grants, bespoke advice, or addressing specific barriers to installation. 

The project aims to deliver 9MW of wind energy generation on Mynydd y Gwrhyd in South Wales. The project is based in the former coal mining community of the Upper Amman and Swansea Valley, and all surplus from the turbines will go into their fuel poverty energy advice service, which is currently grant funding, to make the service sustainable for the future. 

As part of the project, they will undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) leading to a planning application, pay a deposit to secure the grid, and finalise Options and Leases with their landowners. 

They will also aim to keep the site open as an education resource.

Building on the delivery of a previously funded project, Rotherham Federation aim to provide energy saving advice to 2,000 vulnerable households, identified through local intelligence and community referrals.

Advice will be delivered through online support, zoom/phone calls, and community training and events. Participants will use their improved knowledge to change their energy habits, switch suppliers, stay warmer, access help with fuel bills, reduce consumption and improve their energy efficiency. 

Collaborating with local service partners will enable households to access holistic support to resolve related issues (e.g. debt, credit unions, fire safety). Alongside referrals for energy support home visits, where required.

Energy advisors will provide training to local voluntary and community sector organisations to improve their energy knowledge and skills, to effectively deliver volunteer-run energy awareness activities to vulnerable households. 

The project aims to support vulnerable households, to reduce bills, maximise income, tackle fuel poverty and financial hardship for the longer term. They will undertake a two-pronged approach; offering energy advice and information at events, alongside energy casework.

Advice and information will range from energy bills and tariffs, fuel options and switching methods, to smart meters and net zero. To ensure behavioural change and empower households to reduce their energy consumption.

Casework will also be provided for more complex energy issues including, income maximisation, financial assistance towards energy bills, fuel vouchers, and accessing energy efficiency grants and schemes.

They aim to provide in-person energy saving advice to 1,000 households in deprived neighbourhoods across East Birmingham, to support households with reduced fuel bills, improved health and warmer homes.

Advice will be delivered through drop-in sessions at local venues (Women’s Enterprise Centre at Norton Hall; and Jet Shop, Alum Rock Road), telephone advice, and home visits. They will take referrals through word of mouth and a new website with an online booking calendar. 

Many of these households lack fluency in written English, making it difficult for them to assert their rights as consumers of energy services. A large percentage of these families have household members with a variety of cold and damp related medical conditions, such as anxiety, depression, respiratory and circulatory conditions.  

The project aims to achieve measurable reductions in expenditure on fuel, and in greenhouse gas emissions, whilst also reducing the incidence of fuel poverty related stress and anxiety. 

This project will stimulate accessible retrofit, working across tenures to provide expert and timely advice and support to households and landlords with stretched budgets, supporting them along their journey from interest to install. 

They aim to advise over 500 owner occupiers, primarily those with budgets of between £10 - £10,000, providing technical surveys in home, over the phone advice and support at key touchpoints. They will also provide carbon reduction recommendations for social and private landlords’ housing stock, covering 2,100 homes. 

The project will take a customer-first approach, understanding that cost saving and comfort are key priorities for most. Advice will cover carbon saving measures where there is a viable pathway to install. DIY workshops will train householders in measures such as draught proofing, and carry out airtightness testing for air source heat pumps.

The project will focus on ‘getting retrofit done’, celebrating successes and using viable local solutions, using low-cost technologies, and signposting available funding streams. 

They will develop local property typologies to allow replicable results, and expand a directory of installers with proven results in the county. A local media campaign will drive interest in the project and challenge common misconceptions that are forming barriers to uptake. Community Advocates will be trained to provide support in their locality and work with their growing team of retrofit specialists, providing a legacy of planned installs to accelerate the decarbonisation of homes as we approach 2030.

The project will deliver energy advice and support to elderly residents and those most in need. Including individuals with long-term conditions, sensory impairments, physical health challenges, and low-income backgrounds.

Alongside energy saving advice the project will provide practical assistance in making small but effective home energy efficiency changes, helping to reduce energy consumption and lower costs. This includes installing simple adjustments such as draught-proofing, energy-efficient lighting, and optimising heating controls to maximise warmth while minimising waste.

In addition, they will support residents with tailored advice to help them make informed decisions when searching for and switching to the most cost-effective energy tariffs, ensuring they are not overpaying for their energy.

The project will also offer hands-on support in dealing with energy providers, assisting with billing queries, negotiating manageable payment plans, dealing with energy arrears and helping individuals understand their energy usage. 

By empowering people with the knowledge and confidence to manage their energy costs effectively, they aim to reduce financial anxiety and enhance their ability to maintain a warm, secure, and independent home environment.

In partnership with Citizens Advice South West Staffordshire, Citizens Advice South East Staffordshire, and Beat the Cold, the project will provide energy advice and support to vulnerable consumers, across a large network of community venues.

The project will host trained Energy Advisors within foodbanks, libraries, neighbourhood networks, family hubs, and older communities, engaging those who are most vulnerable, and those who don't access the support they need.

Trained Energy Advisers will:

• Provide immediate crisis support
• Deliver advice on energy efficiency
• Support financial capability and resilience
• Raise awareness of available support
• Provide onward referrals to Beat the Cold for energy efficiency advice and capital measures

Through this established partnership and support from local organisations they will increase energy advice provision to meet demand from vulnerable energy consumers, offering a mixture of face-to-face and telephone advice, home visits, and capital measures.

The project aims to deliver net zero in the Isles of Scilly’s electricity supply with environmental, social and economic benefit to the islands’ community. 

Scilly has the highest energy bills of any area in the UK, standing at £1,227 (UK average £757) at the start of 2022. Due to reliance on electricity as the sole source of domestic energy. Depending on measurement methodology, fuel poverty rates on Scilly may be as high as 21% - significantly higher than the national average, evidencing a need to address electricity costs in this location. 

Scilly faces several structural challenges: high capital costs due to the off-shore location, lack of economies of scale due to the small population size, scarcity of land, and an increasing proportion of the population being economically inactive (29%) and elderly (22%). 

This project will progress 3 sites from feasibility study to investment ready state (1 solar, 2 solar and battery). Construction of these sites would allow 400 additional households to join our Energy Local club, delivering around a 21% reduction in energy bills for those households. 

To deliver targeted support for vulnerable households, they will explore the viability of three options: enabling their participation in our Energy Local club, involving them in the decision making around next steps in our energy roadmap, and the identification of potential surpluses and whether they could effectively contribute financially to local support structures.