ALEO web forum

General Fuel Poverty Issues • Re: Prepayment Meters and Emergency Credit

2013-04-25T14:07:59

Hi Pippa

Swindon Borough Council is currently offering support for people needing emergency credit for gas / electricity prepayment meters through its Emergency Assistance Fund. If people cannot afford to top up their gas / electricity and they meet our eligibility criteria then we will top up their meters to a maximum of £25 in total within 24 hours. They can only receive help from us twice in a 12 month period. The payment is made direct to the Utility Company.

During the winter months, we also supported the Surviving Winter Appeal to provide payments to help people stuggling with their fuel bills. There was an eligibility criteria attached to this and the funding was a limited amount depending on donations, but the grants provided were more generous that the Emergency Assistance Fund with grants of £150 or £300. These took longer to administer though so were not so helpful in emergency situations.

Cheers, David Miles
Affordable Warmth Coordinator, Swindon Borough Council

Statistics:Posted by David Miles — Thu Apr 25, 2013 2:07 pm

General Fuel Poverty Issues • Re: Prepayment Meters and Emergency Credit

2013-04-24T17:01:11

Hi Pippa,

On 2nd April we started an Energy Reconnection Fund through our new Resident Support Scheme. Residents who have no credit or have been disconnected from a standard meter are assessed and referred to us by the Resident Support Team and we then top-up their key or card (£25 for one fuel/£40 for both) or pay to have their meter reconnected. We also assess them for energy efficiency and other measures under our Seasonal Health Interventions Network (SHINE). They are permitted to access the fund on only one occasion, except in extreme circumstances.

It is quite labour-intensive to have them come in and for us to take their key or card next door to the shop to top it up (or visit them if they;re housebound) but we're thankfully only doing about one top-up per day at the moment. That will no doubt increase in the winter, along with everything else we do!

John

Statistics:Posted by John Kolm-Murray — Wed Apr 24, 2013 5:01 pm

General Fuel Poverty Issues • Re: Prepayment Meters and Emergency Credit

2013-04-23T16:27:48

Hi Pippa

Thanks to Rosamund Baptiste of Energy Solutions (NWL) for emailing through the response below:

Where we have come across, clients who cannot top up their meter mostly due to lost cards or faulty cards the supplier will give an emergency top up which the client pays back over time so long as they go to the same paypoint or tell the supplier their nearest one. SOME WILL PUT A PROPORTION OF THE EMERGENCY TOP UP ON OR £10.

Statistics:Posted by ALEO Admin — Tue Apr 23, 2013 4:27 pm

General Fuel Poverty Issues • Prepayment Meters and Emergency Credit

2013-04-18T13:46:18

Prior to April this year, people who had used their emergency credit on their pre-payment meters could apply for a crisis loan so that they could 'top-up' and not run out of power. Now that crisis loans are no longer available how can we stop these people being without heating and light? I understand that the government has given discretionary funding to local councils but ours isn't offering any monetary assistance, just advice.

Does anyone have any examples of good practice in this area please?

Pippa Reeve
Northants Warm Homes

Statistics:Posted by Guest — Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:46 pm

General Fuel Poverty Issues • Re: DECC Consultation on Fuel Poverty

2012-10-05T10:09:55

Hi Richard

Just to let you know, CAN will be submitting a response to DECC's Fuel Poverty consultation.

We'd like to hear member's views on this. Please see the new forum: http://can.uk.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=85&t=79 where you can vote on each of the consultation questions and provide any comments your may have.

Many thanks

Rob Leeson
CAN National Secretariat

Statistics:Posted by ALEO Admin — Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:09 am

General Fuel Poverty Issues • Re: DECC Consultation on Fuel Poverty

2012-09-20T15:15:42

Hi Richard

I have asked the CAN Executive whether we will be responding to this as CAN National and will let you know when I receive their response.

In the meantime, we've had the following reply sent by email from Meryl Spencer at East Devon District Council:

Hi
Just to respond to the feed below:-
I’ve asked for it to be an agenda item on the Devon Private Sector Housing Managers Group meeting in a couple of weeks time, to discuss a possible Devon wide response to the consultation. I don’t think it’s possible to do individual responses but an area or group would be more appropriate.
Regards
Meryl

Statistics:Posted by ALEO Admin — Thu Sep 20, 2012 3:15 pm

General Fuel Poverty Issues • DECC Consultation on Fuel Poverty

2012-09-19T12:27:54

Is anyone planning to respond to this? I can't see that I'll have time to go through the process of a formal response (given the fact that Green Deal/ECO will be unleashed in October) but would be interested to know how others are approaching it.

Cheers,

Richard Murrell
Derby City Council

Statistics:Posted by Guest — Wed Sep 19, 2012 12:27 pm

General Fuel Poverty Issues • Re: Energy Bill Revolution

2012-08-29T11:43:08

Hi Richard,

Not sure about any publicity yet as I'm now waiting to hear whether the governing Labour Group will propose a motion after all. I have offered to help them organise a public meeting in the borough when they start doing those.

I haven't yet heard of any London boroughs signing up.

John

Statistics:Posted by John Kolm-Murray — Wed Aug 29, 2012 11:43 am

General Fuel Poverty Issues • Re: Energy Bill Revolution

2012-08-29T09:50:20

Thanks John. Have you / are you planning to do any promotional activity regrding it? Also, do you know if any other London councils have / are planning to sign up?

Cheers, Richard.

Statistics:Posted by Guest — Wed Aug 29, 2012 9:50 am

General Fuel Poverty Issues • Re: Energy Bill Revolution

2012-08-29T09:31:53

Hello,

We (Islington) signed up in January after our Leader agreed to support the campaign. I'm not sure if we need to go for a full Council motion.

John

Statistics:Posted by John Kolm-Murray — Wed Aug 29, 2012 9:31 am

General Fuel Poverty Issues • Re: Energy Bill Revolution

2012-08-24T12:15:47

Cheers Rob that's useful to know.

Statistics:Posted by Guest — Fri Aug 24, 2012 12:15 pm

General Fuel Poverty Issues • Re: Energy Bill Revolution

2012-08-24T11:59:33

Hi murrelr

CAN is officially supporting this campaign which is lobbying the Government to use money from green taxes to tackle fuel poverty by making homes more energy efficient.

I don't know personally how many other LAs are supporting this but CAN would encourage you to do so.

Best regards

Rob Leeson
CAN National Secretariat

Statistics:Posted by ALEO Admin — Fri Aug 24, 2012 11:59 am

General Fuel Poverty Issues • Energy Bill Revolution

2012-08-24T09:30:05

Our Leader has been sent a letter regarding the Energy Bill Revolution (www.energybillrevolution.org) asking for the Council's support by taking a motion to the next Full Council meeting. I've been asked for my views on it. Before I respond I wanted to know if anyone else has had any dealings with this and whether any other Councils have signed up to it. Please let me know. Thanks.

Statistics:Posted by Guest — Fri Aug 24, 2012 9:30 am

General Fuel Poverty Issues • fuel poverty ratio - disposable income or all?

2011-10-18T14:47:38

Does anyone know if the income on the fuel poverty ratio to calculate if someone is fuel poor (as below) is disposable income or household income before all other expenditures and if so is it before or after tax?

Fuel poverty ratio = fuel costs (modelled usage x price) ÷ income

I want to check if someone is fuel poor before approaching people for funding to help a specific client!

thanx

Statistics:Posted by ClareRedfern — Tue Oct 18, 2011 2:47 pm