In January, energy bills for a typical household using gas and electricity rose by £94 a year. The next price cap will be announced on 23 February.
With the colder weather and communities spending more on heating, the District Council is urging residents to make full use of assistance available including support for making their homes more energy efficient.
The Council is part of the Action on Energy partnership which provides advice, guidance, and support on reducing carbon emissions and increasing home energy efficiency - ultimately helping people save money on their fuel bills.
Action on Energy is a partnership made up of the six councils across Cambridgeshire – including South Cambridgeshire District Council - helping to support people to create more energy efficient homes, which, in turn, makes them cheaper to heat and more comfortable to live in. The partnership coordinates, and offers advice on a number of grants including:
- The Home Upgrade Grant 2 (HUG2), offers funding from government, delivered by Action on Energy and can provide home energy efficiency improvements for people on low incomes with properties not heated by gas. The funding aims to make the poorest performing homes more efficient by installing improvements like insulation, solar panels, and heat pumps.
- Boiler upgrade scheme. Grants are available from government to replace gas boilers with cleaner heating systems.
- The ECO4 and Great British Insulation schemes.
Find out more about the funding schemes and advice available on the Action on Energy website. Simply visit the ‘Get in Touch’ page and complete the short grant funding application form.
Cllr Henry Batchelor, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Lead Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, said: “We’re urging residents to take advantage of all the help they are entitled to. Research suggests that around 25% of some benefits go unclaimed so please do check what you are legally entitled to by following this useful link.
“Cold homes can cause or worsen serious health conditions including heart attacks, strokes, bronchitis, and asthma. Fuel poverty can also have a significant impact on mental health. Cold homes and anxiety around energy bills can stop people from cooking hot meals. It can prevent children from thriving as without a warm, quiet place to do their homework, they can fall behind at school. We are doing all we can to help people to live in energy efficient homes which are more affordable to heat, leading to warmer homes and healthier families.”
To find out more:
- Local foodbanks are all listed on the Council’s website. Residents don’t need a voucher to use most of them.
- Residents can access a wide range of energy advice on the Council’s Fuel, Energy and Utilities page which includes details of Community Hubs in South Cambridgeshire.
- Visit www.scambs.gov.uk/cost-of-living to find out more.
