Funded Energy Redress Projects

This project will support approximately 4,050 disadvantaged and vulnerable households who struggle with fuel poverty. The project will help households to understand their energy use, save energy in their homes, communicate with their energy providers, and access grants and other support to better manage their bills. Ultimately, the project aims to reduce the number of people falling into fuel poverty, saving a projected total of £877,000 on energy costs (£1.57m small measures lifetime-savings). The project will work with diverse communities including ethnic minorities, refugees, those with health conditions, and older people. This is a partnership between Severn Wye, Integrated Healthcare, Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (GARAS), and other community organisations.

The Energyworks single point of contact (SPOC) project will be a partnership between Citizens Advice Brighton & Hove (CABH) and Brighton & Hove Energy Services Coop (BHESCo) to help all city residents in fuel poverty. All energy advisers will be trained to City & Guilds Level 3 Energy Awareness. The SPOC will be embedded in the widely used Energyworks service in Brighton & Hove and will be accessed through a central telephone number, digital, advice drop-ins at Citizens Advice at Hove Town Hall, and via community outreach workshops. The Energyworks webpage will have dedicated and up-to-date information on all local and national energy schemes to help reduce fuel poverty. 3,439 clients will be advised over the course of the project and 382 home visits will be undertaken over 2 years.

The project will increase awareness of domestic energy issues and reduce the risk of fuel poverty amongst harder to reach and BME communities, likely to be disproportionately affected by the impacts of high energy prices, the risk of self-disconnection, or arrears from the Covid-19 period. The project is led by the Croydon BME Forum which has a long track record of community engagement, with specialist and advisory support from Croydon Council. An energy adviser will deliver training sessions across the borough and online, which will include energy efficiency, energy bill and tariff advice, energy debt support, and support applying for grant funding. The project will fund promotional campaigns for residents who do not speak English as a first language.

Middlesbrough Environment City Trust (MEC) delivers activities to assist vulnerable, fuel poor people across Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland. The boroughs have extreme levels of poverty, including areas in the top 25% deprived in England. With the ongoing energy crisis, these levels have increased. The project takes a proactive approach to tackling fuel poverty with a one-to-one advice programme across South Tees, the provision of a robust referral pathway to support vulnerable clients through: energy advice; access to energy efficiency measures; crisis support; income maximisation; and wellbeing support.  The project will continue to support those in fuel poverty and will expand upon its past work.

A partnership between Citizens Advice Bury/Bolton, Age UK Bolton, and Age UK Bury will create a team of 4 advisers and a project manager, whose role will include increasing awareness and developing external stakeholder relations with landlords and local authorities. The project will include free face-to-face quality assured advice for those vulnerable to fuel poverty across Bury and Bolton. The project will be delivered through provisions of energy specific advice, income maximisation, and advice on wider money problems. It will work proactively with landlords who are interested in encouraging applications for grants when available. The project will also work to promote greater awareness and access to advice and other services helping people with fuel insecurity.

The ‘Home Retrofit Advice Service’ and ‘Solar Made Easy’ projects will be scaled up to build householder confidence and improve accessibility of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures for householders. Taking a community-by-community approach, working in partnership with local community groups, parish councils and the Farmer Network; they will increase engagement and confidence in the local supply chain; increase supplier confidence in the market and unlock £1million of spend on retrofit in Cumbria (£10k per household). As part of the project, they will support 700 homeowners with advice via events, webinars and other training and upskill contractors to provide quality ’deep retrofit’ in a wide variety of building types.  

Partnering with Warm Wales and National Energy Action (NEA), Newport City Homes will provide a team consisting of trained Community Workers to provide light touch energy advice, looking to reduce fuel expenditure and improve energy efficiency of their homes. Warm Wales community workers will provide in-depth energy advice and education along with energy saving packs. In addition, Warm Wales will work with social prescribing projects and wellbeing to support customers to engage in activities to improve their health and well-being. Awareness training for those that are first point of contact for customers will be implemented, so that fuel poverty can be identified and prevented. Fuel debt and energy awareness training will be provided by NEA to give direct support to households to create warmer, safer, healthier and energy smarter communities in Newport.

The Energy Advice and Advocacy project will be delivered by Thenue Housing Assocation, a registered social landlord managing over 3,800 properties in the east End of Glasgow and Netherholm, Castlemilk.  Households will be provided with ‘warm’ referrals from housing staff, community partners and self-referrals from local residents.  The project will target low-income and vulnerable households struggling to heat their homes and pay energy bills. Energy advisers will provide tailored in-depth energy advice and an advocacy service. The service will adopt an educational, preventative approach to stop new tenants from developing utility arrears and reaching a point of crisis. The project will also offer practical and financial support.

The programme will provide independent and impartial energy advice to vulnerable residents in County Durham to alleviate the impact on their finances, and the ability to manage and health and wellbeing. Referrals will come from a range of stakeholders, including Advice in County Durham Network and internal specialist advice services. The programme will provide education to reduce consumption and maximise the benefit of home heating devices, as well as cost saving measures through home visits and casework. Support will be given with energy disputes and relevant grant applications. Outreach work will be undertaken to provide information and advice to people who may not routinely access Citizens Advice for help.