Recommended schemes for residents
If you are having trouble affording your energy bills, there is day-to-day energy saving advice available that can help keep costs down throughout the week.
For longer term savings, smart meters can be installed in the home to measure how much gas and electricity is being used. This exact data is then sent to your energy supplier, meaning you only pay for what you use instead of paying for estimated rates.
On this page:
- Winter Fuel Payment
- Cold Weather Payment
- Priority services register
- Better Homes, Better Health
- Boiler Upgrade Scheme
Winter Fuel Payment
Residents may be eligible for between £100 and £300 tax-free to help pay your heating bills if they were born before a certain date that changes each year. This is known as a ‘Winter Fuel Payment’.
Find out more about the Winter Fuel Payment on GOV.UK website
Cold Weather Payment
Some people who receive benefits can also get a Cold Weather Payment of £25 if the temperature drops below freezing in their local area for seven days in a row.
Residents need not apply – if eligible, it will be paid automatically in the same way that people receive their benefits.
Check your eligibility for a Cold Weather Payment on GOV.UK website
Priority services register
Energy suppliers offer a priority services register. This gives disabled people, pensioners, and people with long-term ill health access to extra free services. The might include:
- Advance notice of planned power cuts
- Priority support in an emergency
- Identification scheme
- Communications to someone you have nominated
- Meter reading services
- Accessible information (for example, in larger print or Braille)
To be sure to receive additional services, residents must sign up to their supplier’s priority services register.
If there is a different supplier for both electricity and gas, residents must register with each. If you have a carer, they can register on your behalf. There is no charge and you can register for all or some of the services.
Find out more about priority service registers on the Citizens Advice website
Better Homes, Better Health
Better Homes, Better Health provides a free package of support to help eligible Hounslow residents improve their homes, keep warm, and save money on energy bills.
The service aims to promote wellbeing and reduce incidences of ill-health during winter through phone consultations with trained energy advisors. Referrals can be made by individuals, or on behalf of a friend or family member.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) has been launched by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy to lessen the upfront cost of low carbon heating technologies for property owners whilst improving building energy efficiency, reducing energy bills, and cutting carbon emissions.
Residents may be eligible to apply if living in England or Wales, and own a property. BUS funding is available for any new heating systems that were commissioned on or after 1 April 2022, and meet all the requirements outlined in the scheme guidance.
