Energy, fuel and utilities

Warm Homes Healthy People can offer you advice, and refer you for assistance, to heat your home.

You may be eligible for support with your fuel bills from the Surviving Winter appeal, which is administered by Citizens Advice Ipswich.

For further information about the appeal, please email survivingwinter@ipswichcab.org.uk or call 01473 298634. Please note only one application can be made in a twelve month period.

You may also be able to apply for the Suffolk Local Welfare Assistance Scheme for support with heating your home, as well as other essential costs.

If you are in crisis and at risk of disconnection (including self-disconnection, due to lack of funds), please contact your local Citizens Advice for emergency assistance.

Search for your local Citizens Advice

You can also phone the Citizens Advice Suffolk Adviceline on 0808 278 7868

 If you are struggling to pay your energy bills, you may be eligible for additional support. The links below contain further advice about the grants and discounts currently available to households:

• Help with your energy bills (from GOV.UK)
• Grants and benefits to help you pay your energy bills (from Citizens Advice)
• Getting help if you can't afford your energy bills (from Ofgem)

If you rely on oil to heat your home, you may benefit from collective buying schemes that bulk buy to secure a better price for households:

• Community oil buying and bulk LPG (from Community Action Suffolk)
• The Oil-Club

For assistance with the upfront cost of purchasing oil, Eastern Savings & Loans offer an interest free loan of up to £500.

A number of organisations have produced information about how households can reduce their energy use:

• Energy advice for households (from Ofgem)
• Quick tips to save energy at home (from Energy Saving Trust)
• Energy saving advice (from GOV.UK)

Improving the energy efficiency of your home can help you reduce your use of energy.

If you own your home, or are a private landlord, you can use the following tool to learn about longer term investments that improve the energy efficiency of your home. The tool also provides information on installations, as well as grants:

Find ways to save energy in your home GOV.UK

You can find out more information about the grants available to home owners and landlords via the following links:

• Loans and Grants (from our Housing team)
• Warm Homes Suffolk
• Apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (from GOV.UK)

Throughout the winter a network of warm spaces was developed for people to come together to socialise in warm and welcoming environments. During the milder weather many of these spaces have continued as free social hubs, the majority of these spaces are mapped on the Rural Coffee Caravan website. Suffolk Libraries are continuing to offer a range of free to access services and meet ups across the county. Find your local library

Further advice

If you need to speak to someone about your energy bills, please contact:

• Citizens Advice
• Warm and Safe Homes Advice Service

Some Good Neighbour Schemes offer community transport: find a list of participating neighbourhoods. You can also search for community transport operators on Suffolk Infolink

Where possible, using alternatives to a car can reduce your household fuel expenses. 'The Way to Go Suffolk' helps you plan journeys within the county.

Where driving can't be avoided, consider car sharing to split the expense. Suffolk Car Share helps you look for drivers who are travelling where you are.

Anglian Water offer reduced tariffs to eligible households on a low income. Learn more about Anglian Water's LITE and Extra LITE tariffs

You may be able to reduce your phone and broadband bill(s) by switching to a social tariff

If you are on a low income and you're struggling to get online, you may be able to access free data from the National Databank. You can also access the internet for free at an Online Centre.

Learn more about the National Databank

If you are struggling to pay for your TV, phone or internet bill(s), Citizens Advice have provided some advice on their website:

Learn more about help with TV, phone or internet costs