WINTER is on the way and that means energy bills going up for millions – but there are ways to get help if you’re struggling.

The new price cap is coming into effect from tomorrow, when the average household will start paying £149 more a year for their energy.

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And with the colder months drawing in, most households will start using more energy to keep warm too.

But you might not be aware there are a host of freebies on offer to help you tackle your bills. Here is all the help you can get.

Energy grants

Several energy firms have grant schemes available to customers struggling to cover their bills.

But eligibility criteria varies depending on the supplier and the amount you can get depends on your financial circumstances.

For example, British Gas customers struggling to pay their energy bills can get grants worth up to £2,000.

Ovo Energy, E.ON, Octopus and Scottish Power all have their own schemes where you can get money towards the cost of bills too.

It’s worth speaking to your supplier to see what help is at hand.

Free electric blankets and money-saving gadgets

Octopus Energy is offering customers free electric blankets through its £30million Octopus Assist fund.

The energy firm, which services almost seven million households, is dishing out the money-saving gadgets to the most vulnerable.

This means those most likely to receive help are the elderly and those with mobility issues or other medical conditions.

You should contact Octopus to find out if you’re eligible for help.

Ovo Energy is also offering money-saving gadgets to households through a £50million customer support package.

Customers struggling to pay bills can get access to free energy-saving items like electric throws and mattress toppers.

The firms’ package also includes payment holidays for prepayment meter customers and direct financial support.

The package opens tomorrow, October 1, but Ovo’s website is already live for customers to check if they’re eligible for help.

Free boilers

Thousands of households on benefits can get help applying for free and cheap boilers through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO).

Help is offered on a case-by-case basis, but it can mean having a new boiler fitted, or loft or cavity wall insulation put in, often for free.

A number of energy companies are signed up to the scheme:

• British Gas
• E (Gas and Electricity) LTd
• E.ON
• Ecotricity
• EDF
• Octopus Energy
• Outfox the Market
• OVO
• Scottish Power
• Shell Energy
• So Energy (including ESB Energy)
• The Utility Warehouse
• Utilita Energy

You only qualify for the ECO scheme under certain circumstances, for example if you claim certain benefits.

You can find out more about the scheme via Ofgem‘s website.

Free solar panels

Some councils offer low-income households money towards making their home greener.

And some offer grants to install solar panels, which could save you around £6,000.

The Sun spoke to pensioner Gareth Hodgson, who applied for tens of thousands of pounds of free home improvements that have nearly halved his bills.

The help you can get from your local council varies depending on several factors including your personal circumstances.

In most areas, homeowners must have a total income of less than £30,000 to get the help.

Your home must have an EPC rating of D, E, F or G for you to be eligible too.

Free energy-efficient showerheads

A number of water companies offer households free water and energy-saving gadgets like regulated shower heads worth £20.

The Energy Saving Trust says switching to a water-efficient shower head can save a family of four on a water meter £195 a year on bills.

This is because less energy is needed to pump, heat and treat the water. The amount you’ll save depends on your circumstances.

To get hold of the money-saving showerheads, you just have to visit the Save Money Save Water website where you have to fill in a short survey about your water usage.

You are then redirected to your water supplier’s website to claim any freebies.

Not all water companies offer the freebies though, including Anglian, Essex and Suffolk, Northumbrian or Thames Water.

That said, you can sometimes get the freebies by heading direct to their websites.

Household Support Fund

The latest round of Household Support Fund is worth £421million and has been shared between councils in England.

They then decide how to distribute that share, although in most cases help is offered to those on a low income or benefits such as Universal Credit.

In any case, you have to apply through your local council, which you can find by using the Government’s council locator tool online.

Some local authorities are handing out energy vouchers while others are making bank transfers.

Councils have until March 31 next year to allocate their share of the latest fund.

Cold weather payment

Cold weather payments are made to hard-up households when there is a seven-day period of sub zero temperatures.

The money is paid by the Department for Work and Pensions and designed to cover extra costs incurred by colder weather.

The scheme runs between November 1 and March 31, although eligible households don’t have to apply as money is paid automatically if you qualify.

However, it’s worth taking note of who qualifies, which is anyone on one of the following benefits:

You may have to meet other criteria too, including:

• Having a disability or be in receipt of pension premium
• Having a child who is disabled
• Receiving child tax credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
• Having a severe or enhanced disability premium
• Being in receipt of a limited capability for work amount
• Having a child under five living with you

You can read more about eligibility on the Government’s website.

Winter heating payment

The winter heating payment replaces the cold weather payment for households in Scotland and is worth £58.75.

To get the payment you must get one of the following benefits during the qualifying week:

• Universal Credit
• Pension Credit
• Income Support
• Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income Related Employment Support Allowance
• Support for Mortgage Interest 

This year’s qualifying week was November 4 to November 10, 2024.

You also have to meet one other specific requirement of your qualifying benefits.

For example, you will receive a payment if you are on income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or Income Support and have any of the following:

• a disability premium
• a severe disability premium
• a pensioner premium
• the disability element of Child Tax Credit
• a child under five

The major difference between the winter heating payment and cold weather payment is that you receive the £58.75 regardless of the weather.

Warm home discount

Millions of households in England, Wales and Scotland can get £150 deducted off their energy bills through the Warm Home Discount.

This winter the money will be taken off your bill between October and March 2025.

You’ll need to receive one or more of the following benefits to qualify:

Eligible households in England and Wales don’t have to apply for the discount, although some in Scotland do.

Scottish residents should check with their energy supplier directly to see if they qualify for the discount.

Winter Fuel Payment

The Winter Fuel Payment is worth up to £300 every winter and paid to those on certain benefits.

It used to be available to those of state pension age and older, but has now been made means-tested by the Government.

Most of those eligible for the payment are paid automatically and don’t need to apply.

The up to £300 payment is usually made in November or December.

What is the Winter Fuel Payment?

Consumer reporter Sam Walker explains all you need to know about the payment.

The Winter Fuel Payment is an annual tax-free benefit designed to help cover the cost of heating through the colder months.

Most who are eligible receive the payment automatically.

Those who qualify are usually told via a letter sent in October or November each year.

If you do meet the criteria but don’t automatically get the Winter Fuel Payment, you will have to apply on the government’s website.

You’ll qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment this winter if:

• you were born on or before September 23, 1958
• you lived in the UK for at least one day during the week of September 16 to 22, 2024, known as the “qualifying week”
• you receive Pension Credit, Universal Credit, ESA, JSA, Income Support, Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit

If you did not live in the UK during the qualifying week, you might still get the payment if both the following apply:

• you live in Switzerland or a EEA country
• you have a “genuine and sufficient” link with the UK social security system, such as having lived or worked in the UK and having a family in the UK

But there are exclusions – you can’t get the payment if you live in Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal or Spain.

This is because the average winter temperature is higher than the warmest region of the UK.

You will also not qualify if you:

• are in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year
• need permission to enter the UK and your granted leave states that you can not claim public funds
• were in prison for the whole “qualifying week”
• lived in a care home for the whole time between 26 June to 24 September 2023, and got Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance

Payments are usually made between November and December, with some made up until the end of January the following year.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

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