Benefits - Fuel bills

There are many reasons why people can find it hard to pay their fuel bills . You might hear this called 'fuel poverty'.

The key factors that can contribute to fuel poverty are:

• The energy efficiency of the property (the energy required to heat and power the home)
• The cost of energy
• Household income

Fuel Poverty Act

The Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Act was passed by Parliament with unanimous support in June 2019 and received Royal Assent on 18 July 2019. It sets statutory targets for reducing fuel poverty, introduces a new definition which aligns fuel poverty more closely with relative income poverty and requires Scottish Ministers to produce a comprehensive strategy to show how they intend to meet the targets.

Targets

The statutory targets set by the 2019 Act are that in 2040:

• no more than 5% of households should be in fuel poverty;
• no more than 1% of households should be in extreme fuel poverty; and
• the median fuel poverty gap of households in fuel poverty is no more than £250 in 2015 prices before adding inflation.

How to get help

Make sure you are receiving all the benefits you are entitled to

• Speak to our Welfare Support Team Tel: 0800 090 1004
• Citizens Advice Bureau can give you free advice if you are having problems paying your fuel bills

Grants and funding

There are a number of energy efficiency schemes which offer grants to eligible households, such as The Warm Home Discount Scheme.

For more information, please contact Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282.

Increasing the energy efficiency of your home will reduce fuel bills

Home Energy Scotland can advise you on current grant schemes and offers, such as Home Energy Efficiency Programme for Scotland.

Call free on 0808 808 2282 during office hours to speak to a specialist advisor.

Alternatively, you can search the Scottish grants and discounts database to find out what grants or offers you may be eligible for.