Having trouble paying your energy bills? The government can help

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Having trouble paying your energy bills? The government can help

Posted On : Jul-09-2009 | seen (1780) times | Article Word Count : 492 |

Thanks to increases in gas and electricity rates, UK households are now paying an average of more than 1000GBP per year on the utility bills.

Thanks to increases in gas and electricity rates, UK households are now paying an average of more than 1000GBP per year on the utility bills. This staggering rise has left many unable to cope. But help is at hand, with a new range of government initiatives set out to help those most in need. This guide will let you know what help is available to you.

If you are struggling to pay for your gas and electricity bills, then you should get in touch with your supplier too. They should be happy to help, and often have a range of support in place for those on lower incomes. They can work out a more affordable payment plan for you, may offer you a grant, or switch your energy tariff to a special reduced rate.

1.Insulating your home properly is a great way to save on energy bills, as an insulated home means less heat loss, and hence a reduced need for your gas central heating. But insulation can be expensive to install. This is why the government have introduced their Home Energy Saving Programme, which provides free loft and cavity insulation for those on reduced incomes and for pensioners. Everyone else can get 50 per cent off the price of insulation.

2. Those living in the most deprived areas of Great Britain will be given extra help via the Community Energy Saving Programme. This is a service run by local charities, local councils and the gas and electricity companies themselves, whose job it is now to go from house-to-house making sure that everyone knows what help they are entitled to.

3. You may well have already heard of the Winter Fuel Payment scheme. This is a tax-free annual payment given to UK residents over the age of 60. The amount you receive will depend on your personal circumstances but last year payments ranged from 250 GBP to 400 GBP.

4. The Winter Fuel Payment is paid once each year, usually in November. The payment is should automatically paid to those who have a state pension and live within the UK. Those without a state-provided pension should phone 08459 151 515 form a claim form, or visit the government website at Direct.Gov.

5. The government has a system in place for helping out those most in need when the temperatures drop. Those on pension credit, those on benefits who also have a young child in the family, and those on certain disability and pension premiums are entitled to this one-off payment when the average temperature hits 0C or below for 7 days in a row.

The government recently announced that it would be asking both gas and electricity companies and suppliers for a 910 million GBP sum to help pay for all of their new energy aid initiatives. So a few of these schemes will be being funded by the energy suppliers rather than taxation.

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<h1>Having trouble paying your energy bills? The government can help </h1> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Daniel Higgins .aspx'>Daniel Higgins </a> Thanks to increases in gas and electricity rates, UK households are now paying an average of more than 1000GBP per year on the utility bills. This staggering rise has left many unable to cope. But help is at hand, with a new range of government initiatives set out to help those most in need. This guide will let you know what help is available to you.

If you are struggling to pay for your gas and electricity bills, then you should get in touch with your supplier too. They should be happy to help, and often have a range of support in place for those on lower incomes. They can work out a more affordable payment plan for you, may offer you a grant, or switch your energy tariff to a special reduced rate.

1.Insulating your home properly is a great way to save on energy bills, as an insulated home means less heat loss, and hence a reduced need for your gas central heating. But insulation can be expensive to install. This is why the government have introduced their Home Energy Saving Programme, which provides free loft and cavity insulation for those on reduced incomes and for pensioners. Everyone else can get 50 per cent off the price of insulation.

2. Those living in the most deprived areas of Great Britain will be given extra help via the Community Energy Saving Programme. This is a service run by local charities, local councils and the gas and electricity companies themselves, whose job it is now to go from house-to-house making sure that everyone knows what help they are entitled to.

3. You may well have already heard of the Winter Fuel Payment scheme. This is a tax-free annual payment given to UK residents over the age of 60. The amount you receive will depend on your personal circumstances but last year payments ranged from 250 GBP to 400 GBP.

4. The Winter Fuel Payment is paid once each year, usually in November. The payment is should automatically paid to those who have a state pension and live within the UK. Those without a state-provided pension should phone 08459 151 515 form a claim form, or visit the government website at Direct.Gov.

5. The government has a system in place for helping out those most in need when the temperatures drop. Those on pension credit, those on benefits who also have a young child in the family, and those on certain disability and pension premiums are entitled to this one-off payment when the average temperature hits 0C or below for 7 days in a row.

The government recently announced that it would be asking both gas and electricity companies and suppliers for a 910 million GBP sum to help pay for all of their new energy aid initiatives. So a few of these schemes will be being funded by the energy suppliers rather than taxation. About the Author: Take out <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/maintenance-and-repair.html">boiler cover</a> with British Gas and make sure that you have no unpleasant surprises or engineers bills this winter. All of our work is carried out by <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/maintenance-and-repair/why-british-gas/gas-safe-register.html">Corgi</a> registered engineers. Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Having-trouble-paying-your-energy-bills-The-government-can-help_1669.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Having trouble paying your energy bills? The government can help _1669.aspx</a>

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Having trouble paying your energy bills? The government can help _1669.aspx

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Take out boiler cover with British Gas and make sure that you have no unpleasant surprises or engineers bills this winter. All of our work is carried out by Corgi registered engineers.

Keywords : central heating boilers,

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