HOUSEHOLDS have hours left to apply for an energy scheme which could pocket them an extra £750 in help.
The British Gas hardship grant, which helps low-income households with their bills, ends today.
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Ofgem chief Jonathan Brearley has warned the energy price cap is likely to rocket to £2,800 in October, and latest estimates suggest it could be even higher.
Meanwhile, Bank of England economists expect inflation to rise to 11% by the end of the year, as the price of everything from petrol to groceries soars.
That means households need all the help they can get – budgets are already straining to cope with the rising cost of living.
The British Gas customer grant lends up to £750 to struggling bill payers.
You need to be a British Gas customer in order to claim the funding, but you can grab between £250 and £750 to write-off chunks of debt.
The average amount given to a customer is roughly £532.
To get a grant you need to be living in fuel poverty and not have more than £1,000 in savings.
If you’re in fuel poverty, it means your income is below the poverty line once you’ve paid your energy bills.
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You’ll also need to have an outstanding debt of between £250 and £750 on an open gas or electricity or duel fuel account.
If any of this seems familiar, you can apply to the fund online.
But you’ll need to be quick – the scheme closes TODAY.
To apply, you’ll need to provide a meter reading and detail your income as well as that of anyone else in the household.
What energy provider hardship schemes are still open?
If you can’t apply to the British Gas hardship fund, there might be others you’re eligible for.
For example, the E.on Next Energy Fund can help customers through grants as well as through replacing an appliance such as a cooker, fridge or washing machine.
It’s not clear how much you could get with this grant, but you’ll need to be in financial hardship if you want to apply.
You can read more about it and apply on the company website.
Octopus Energy is offering customers grants of up to £500 to help them pay for essentials.
The grants offered start from £50 and there’s no specific eligibility criteria.
This comes as the firm recently doubled its Octo Assist Fund to £5million to help hard-up households.
You can apply on the Octopus website by filling out its financial support form.
The EDF Customer Support Fund is also available, helping customers manage household debts.
The fund is run by Charis, an organisation that runs energy bill support funds on behalf of a number of big suppliers like EDF and E.ON. You can apply online here.
Funding will be given on a case-by-case basis, and EDF said you must continue to pay your bills while your application is being processed.
And Shell has also set up a support fund where they’ve set aside £5million to help customers with their bills.
If you’re with Shell and you find you’re struggling, do get in touch with it.
You will be referred to its payment support scheme and a Shell Energy adviser will discuss your situation with you.
Each grant will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
What other help can I get with my energy bills?
There are still plenty of other schemes and hacks you can try to help you balance your bills.
For example, The Household Support Fund is helping those on low income pay for essentials and bills.
What you get depends on which council area you’re in, because they all give out money in different ways.
For example, Birmingham is lending a free £200 in cash to help with food and bills.
To check if you’re eligible and what you could get, call up your local council.
You could also be eligible for a £150 council tax rebate.
This is some extra cash to land in your account if you fall under council tax bands A-D. And you don’t need to pay it back.
And even if you’re in bands E-H, you could still grab £150 free cash. Do note that you’ll need to apply for this though, and the deadline ends on September 30, 2022.
If you’re on Universal Credit, you may be eligible for a £650 cost of living payment.
The extra cash is being dished out on a £15billion emergency package for low income households.
More than eight million households will receive the help, which will be paid in two instalments.
The first instalment is worth £326 and will land in bank accounts from 14 July – payments will be staggered from there.
But the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) say applicants may not receive money at the same time.
The DWP says it’s because there are millions of payments that need to go out and they can’t all be processed on a single day.
And there’s also a scheme for pensioners to get an extra £300 in winter fuel discount.
A £2.5billion pot of cash will go to older households to help them heat their homes this winter.
