Q&A with our Energy Support Officers on energy costs this winter

Welcome and community guide Ask the team
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Hello everyone,

Today is National Energy Action’s Fuel Poverty Awareness Day.

On Thursday, 7th December between 2-3pm we will have our wonderful Energy Support Officers, Rachel and Wendy here to answer any questions you may have on energy costs this winter.

Rachel and Wendy can provide high level information on the support that may be available to people affected by terminal illness, including information on grants and benefits, to help through the energy crisis and the increasing cost of living.

If you have any questions you would like to ask Rachel and Wendy, please comment below or send them to us via private message – whatever you feel comfortable with.

We look forward to chatting with you on Thursday.

See you there,

Marie Curie Online Community Team

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Hello everyone, my name is Wendy and am an Energy Support Officer with Marie Curie.

My role includes providing information, support and signposting across a broad range of subjects including all things energy, cost of living, available grants and national energy support.

If you have any questions about energy, please feel free to join the session or post them here.

Looking forward to chatting to everyone on Thursday.

Wendy

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Hi everyone :)

I’m Rachel and I’m one of the energy support officers at Marie Curie, we are here to give information and support on the cost of energy bills or for those worried about bills. We can do this by giving you details on what supplier specific support is available to you and information on further grants for financial support if this is needed too.

Look forward to answering your questions next week, please join if you can or post any questions here for us to pick up.

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Many of our callers on the Support Line share worries or concerns about not understanding their utility bills - is there any way you can explain how best to read them? and what people should be looking out for?

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Hi Both,

Lots of our callers have concerns around energy and bills this winter and we often get asked are there any other ways to help with bills?

Thanks

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One of my neighbours is terminally ill and I’ve noticed her house is always cold when I go to check on her. Do you have any advice on how to best stay warm it any support she can get with heating costs this winter?

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Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for joining us this afternoon. Our Energy Support Officers Wendy and Rachel are here with us today to answer any questions you may have on energy costs this winter.

If there’s anything you would like to ask, please feel free to post below.

Thank you for the questions that are already coming through :yellow_heart:

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Hi @Brigette. Thank you for your question. Energy bills do have a lot of information on them but taking time to understand them will help to keep you more in control of your account. This could include things like ensuring a meter reading you have provided is used by your supplier to bill you, also if you have a smart meter, check if these readings are being used to calculate your usage. checking the amount of your direct debit is reflective of the energy you use each month is also good to ensure you are not under or over paying. It is also good to make sure you are using your annual consumption ( usage) if you may want to switch.

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Thank you for your question Hannah.

There are some grants from suppliers to help with energy debts and you should always speak with your supplier if you are struggling as they can support you with options.

Ensure you give up to date readings to your supplier to make sure your billed for what you have used. Although there are no specific deals for those with terminal illness, if you are in receipt of certain benefits, you may be able to apply for social tariffs for water, broadband and mobile bills, reducing these may mean you have more money to use on energy bills. There is also support if you have an oxygen concentrator at home and benefits you may be eligible for if you don’t get these already. You can find out more on our webpage here

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Thank you for your question and joining us today @Rhibubs, I’m sorry to read that your neighbor is terminally ill. What a great question, your neighbor may want to look into any heat loss from the homes, things such as drafts or lack of insulation can mean heat is escaping from the property and making it colder. You neighbor can speak to their supplier to see if they can offer any help through the ECO 4 scheme or perhaps the local council as some have schemes and grants that may be able to support them if this is needed.

Although there are no direct schemes for those with a terminal illness your neighbor could speak to their supplier to check they are paying the right amount, they may also be able to get grants to help with energy debt if they have any or other grants to help financially, the turn2us website here

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Hi @Rhibubs. You could also let your neighbor know about the Priority Services Register. You can join the priority services register if you have a serious or long-term health condition, are of pensionable age, need additional support even for a temporary period, live with children under 5, are dependent on medical equipment, have sight, hearing, speech or mobility difficulties or if you cannot communicate in English.

You can access different free services dependent on your circumstances, these include things such as access to alternative heating or cooking services or bottled water in the event of a supply disruption, bills being sent in different formats to suit your communication needs, such as other languages or braille and the ability to nominate someone to deal with these for you, also password schemes so you can ensure callers are from the utility company.

You can join by calling your energy and water supplier or online at: thepsr.co.uk

The Customer Care Register is the Northern Ireland equivalent of the Priority Services Register. It means you can get extra support if:

you’re of state pension age or

you have a disability – for example, being blind, partially sighted, deaf or have hearing loss or

you’re chronically sick, including living with a terminal illness.

Being on the Customer Care Register means your details are a priority for your energy company. For example, you’ll be contacted ahead of time about planned energy outages (if energy will be switched off for a period of time).

There is also a Medical Customer Care Register. This Register is for people who rely on electricity for their healthcare needs – for example, for equipment.

Your could also maybe check that your neighbor has maybe a heat pillow or hot water bottle to ensure they are warmer whilst sitting.

We do have some very handy information on our website that you may be able to pass on to your neighbor or look at with them. It gives lots of tips on support that may be available to help with energy bills: Financial support for energy bills | Marie Curie

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Thank you so much for answering the questions we’ve had so far Wendy and Rachel. Please may I ask, where can our Online Community members get help to make their home more energy efficient?

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Of course that’s a great question @admin

There is the ECO 4 scheme which stands for Energy Company Obligation, it is a government energy-efficiency scheme in Great Britain, designed to tackle fuel poverty and help reduce carbon emissions. It is up to the energy companies to determine which projects they choose to fund and the level of funding they provide so you would need to contact suppliers directly, you may also be able to get support from your local council with grants for energy efficiency measures in the home. There is also the great British insulation scheme you may be eligible for more information here and the Help to Heat page to find energy grants for your home here

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Thank you Rachel, that’s really helpful.

Thank you for sharing the links with further information too, it’s much appreciated.

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One of the questions we had sent in in advance was: I have a complaint with my supplier can I get your help with this?

All suppliers should have a copy of their complaints process online or you can call them and ask for this. If you need hep with the complaint you can speak to your local advice center or Citizens advice consumer helpline details here and if you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint or its been over 8 weeks and you haven’t had a reply you can ask the ombudsman to take the complaint on.

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Another of the questions we have been sent in advance is: Should I consider switching my energy supplier?

A really great question as its hard to tell sometimes if you would get a better deal by switching.

If you are considering switching supplier, or even taking a new tariff with your existing supplier, ensure you complete quotes based on your actual annual consumption, this is the amount of energy you use in a year in your household. Some switching offers base quotes on an average however having your actual household usage figure means that the quote will reflect what you will pay as opposed to an estimate.

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If any of our members are struggling to afford to top up their pre-payment meter, is there anything that may be able to help?

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Another good question @admin.

There are a few places who may be able to support with this, you can reach out to your supplier and ask if they can help you with an emergency top up, you will usually have to pay this back and can agree with your supplier how you do this. You may also be able to get a free fuel voucher from your local council, citizens advice or your local food bank, you can reach out to these organisations to find out if they can offer support for you.

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Thank you Rachel, that’s good to know.

Can you change from a pre-payment meter?

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Anyone can ask their supplier to move them to a credit meter but they may request that you pass a credit check or pay a deposit. You can speak to your supplier if it isn’t safe or practical for you to be on prepayment (even if you’re in debt) you can ask them to move you to a credit meter.