ENERGY bills will jump to £2,500 from October 1, but struggling households could get up to £4,000 in help to pay for the hikes.
From free cash from local councils to grants from suppliers, support is there if you’re falling behind on bills or running up a debt.
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It comes as energy bills will jump by hundreds of pounds from £1,971 to £2,500 under the energy price guarantee.
Although it will mean costs are going up, the guarantee will actually save the typical household £1,000, the government claims.
That’s because energy bills were originally set to rise to £3,549 this winter.
If you’re worried about how you’ll afford the hikes, here’s all the bill support you can get.
All together, the support comes to £3,999 in total – but you might not be eligible for all the available measures.
Energy bill discount – £400
All households in England, Scotland and Wales will get a £400 energy bill discount.
The help will be paid in six monthly instalments from October until March 2023.
Customers will see a discount of £66 applied to their bills in October and November, and £67 in December, January, February and March.
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Energy suppliers are responsible for handing out the discount – and how they will pay it varies.
British Gas, EDF Energy, Ovo Energy and Scottish Power have confirmed they will credit the discount to customers’ bank accounts for those paying their bills by direct debit.
Bulb, E.ON and E.ON Next, Shell Energy, Octopus Energy, So Energy, Utilita and Utility Warehouse will not pay the discount into customer bank accounts.
Energy grants – worth up to £1,500
There are energy grants and schemes open to help you out if you’re struggling.
British Gas has confirmed it will pay its most vulnerable customers grants worth £750 to help with sky-high bills.
The British Gas Energy Trust has previously paid struggling households up to £1,500 – and you don’t need to be a British Gas customer to apply.
Ask your supplier what’s on offer and how to apply, or check here:
Warm Home Discount – £150
There’s no need to claim for the Warm Home Discount this year – instead, the £150 bill help will be dished out automatically to those who qualify.
Millions will get the discount off their energy bills between December – when payments are likely to start – and March 2023.
You’ll be eligible for the automatic discount if you received any of the following benefits up to August 21 this year:
The Department for Work and Pensions, who’s overseeing the scheme, will send you letter in October to confirm if you’ll get the payment later on in the year.
It’s up to individual energy companies to decide when they will give their customers the discount.
If you’re unsure about who supplies your energy, you can find out through Find My Supplier.
Household support fund – up to £500
Struggling households can get up to £500 in help from their local council under the Household Support Fund.
What help you can get varies depending on who your local authority is.
Each council has been given a slice of £500million of funding from central government to dish out to hard-up residents in their local area.
How they distribute this funding is up to them – so the help on offer will vary.
Some authorities are giving up to £500 cash to residents, like in Bromsgrove and Redditch.
The latest round of funding closes today, September 30.
But the Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed there will be £421million of funding available between October and March next year.
We’ll update you when we know more about how much each council will get this time round – and how they will decide to distribute the help.
To find your local council, -go to gov.uk and search using your postcode.
Welfare assistance scheme – up to £1,000
The welfare assistance scheme works in a similar way to the Household Support Scheme.
You can get free cash or vouchers to help you pay for rent, energy bills, food and furniture.
But not every council offers the support.
The Sun revealed that families are facing a postcode lottery when it comes to what help they can get.
We revealed you could get up to £1,000 in some areas last year.
Cold weather payment – up to £75
When temperatures plummet, low income households can get a £25 payment.
The cash is designed to help people cover the cost of heating their homes when temperatures drop.
The cold weather payment is dished out when temperatures are recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees or below, on average, for seven consecutive days.
The scheme runs between November 1 and March 31.
The payments should arrive within 14 working days.
The cash is paid into the same bank or building society account as the one used to pay benefits, and doesn’t affect any other allowances you may claim.
Second cost of living payment – £324
The government announced eight million households will be eligible for a £650 cost of living payment this year.
It is being dished out in two separate chunks.
You should already have received your first payment, worth £326.
Seven million were paid this help from July onwards, with the remaining one million – who receive tax credits – paid from September.
The final chunk – worth £326 – will be paid in Autumn.
The date for the second chunk worth £324 has yet to be confirmed.
However, those who later qualify for benefits may be eligible for the cash – even if they didn’t get the first payment.
Fuel vouchers – £50
If you’re on a prepayment meter you might be able to get a one-off voucher to top up.
These vouchers are distributed through a range of organisations, like food banks and Citizens Advice.
The best place to start to find somewhere which can offer you a fuel voucher is by asking your local council.
The voucher should help you cover around two weeks worth of electricity use.
Some energy companies may also issue their own vouchers, so ask your supplier directly.
Check if you can get benefits
Millions of Brits are missing out on benefits they’re entitled to adding up to billions of pounds in total.
The extra help will be useful to help you pay for rising bills.
Benefit calculators can help you check what you could be entitled to.
There are several benefit checker tools you can use – here’s our guide.
