Outside (EE)

Struggling to pay bills

If you are struggling to pay your bills, you need to contact your energy supplier as soon as you can, particularly if you have been advised that your power supply may be disconnected. Suppliers can often offer payment plans, payment breaks, or access to hardship funds. Ofgem’s (the energy regulator) rules mean energy suppliers must work with you to agree on a payment plan you can afford. Energy suppliers may also be able to give you advice on how to use less energy.

Priority Services Register

Some people can also sign up to the Priority Services Register, for example, if you are an older adult, are pregnant/have young children, or have a long-term medical condition or disability. Signing up means that you can be provided with extra help, such as bill and account information in different formats, or priority support in an emergency situation. The Priority Service Register can be accessed through your energy and water suppliers. For more information visit Ofgem’s information pages on the Priority Services Register

Meter readings

If you don’t have a smart meter, it is important to take regular meter readings and send them to your energy supplier, to make sure that you get accurate bills and don’t unwittingly build up large energy debts (estimated bills are not always correct, and you may end up using more power than your supplier thinks). Citizens Advice and Octopus Energy have useful guides with images showing you how to read your meters:

Citizens Advice: How to read your gas or electricity meter - Citizens Advice

Octopus Energy: Meter Readings | The Ultimate Guide | Octopus Energy

Reading your energy bills

It is helpful to check your energy bill carefully so that you can understand your energy use, the cost of your energy use and what your supplier has charged you. Ofgem have some useful information to help you.

Understand your electricity and gas bills and the Centre for Sustainable Energy has a helpful example of an energy bill and the kind of information that you are likely to find on it, here: Understanding your gas or electricity bill

Disconnection of your power supply or significantly reducing your energy usage can have some risks. It can make it harder to heat your home effectively, and this in turn can lead to problems with damp and mould.

Cold homes

Living in a cold home can affect our health. Cold temperatures can increase blood pressure and the risk of respiratory infections, heart attacks, and strokes, particularly in individuals over 65 or those with pre-existing conditions. Extremely cold homes can increase the risk of hypothermia, particularly for those people who might be vulnerable such as older adults (65+), young children (under 5), people with chronic cardiovascular or respiratory conditions, and those with disabilities or other medical conditions. Having a warm home additionally protects your property, by helping prevent frozen pipes and reducing the risk of condensation, damp and mould.

Damp and mould

Damp can pose health risks as it can lead to high humidity and mould growth. Breathing in mould spores can cause respiratory problems and can worsen existing health conditions such as allergies and asthma. Some groups of people, such as children and babies and people with medical conditions such as asthma, can be at greater risk, so it is important to tackle condensation, damp and mould.

Free It might be hard to call your energy supplier but if you are behind with your payments or at risk of disconnection then you need to do this as soon as possible. You can also look for help from other organisations such as Citizens Advice if you have debts and are worried about the cost of living.

Ofgem have useful information on how to Get help with your energy bills

Citizens Advice also describe what to do if you’re behind with your energy bills or if you’ve been told your energy supply will be disconnected

Check out the Money Talk Lincs pages on Connect to Support to get more information about finances.