When temperatures plummet it can be an added strain on already high energy bills. Households are already facing higher prices under the regulator Ofgem’s new energy price cap which came into effect on January 1.
From January to March, the new price cap for those paying by direct debit has been set at £1,738 – a 1.2 per cent increase from the previous three months. This marked the second rise in a row, with a further increase expected for later in the year.
Those paying by cash or cheque will have a higher cap of £1,851 a year to account for additional costs while prepay energy bills will rise by an average of 1% which means under the new Price Cap, a typical household on prepay will pays £1,690 a year. However the exact amount of what you will pay depends on how much you use.
It comes as many pensioners are facing the loss of the Winter Fuel Payment which previously gave all those of State Pension age up to £300 to help with the additional costs. Now on those on key benefits – mainly Pension Credit – will get the cash assistance.
But for those on prepayment meters many might not have any money to add to their meter leaving them without energy. Figures from Citizens Advice estimate 1.7m people in Britain ran out of credit on their prepayment meter last year with 800,000 going more than 24 hours without gas or electricity as they couldn’t afford to top up.
However for those who are struggling there is some help available. Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert says: “Make sure you are getting all the support you are entitled to. If you’re worried about paying your energy bills – or you’re already struggling – don’t suffer in silence. There’s lots of help out there.”
The financial site explains all suppliers offer help. This includes small amounts of emergency credit, usually £5 to £10 credit after your top-up runs out. However using emergency credit it doesn’t charge you the standing charge, the fixed charge you pay every day to be connected.
Many providers also have hardship funds to help those in debt. Find out if you can get help through a supplier hardship fund.
The main suppliers have set out their rules for additional help. Here’s what they say:
Utilita
Utilita customers can get up to £100 if they are running low on credit. This can be up to £60 of gas and £40 of electricity credit. Then you can choose the best way to repay it.
To qualify you must have less than £2 credit in your account, a meter that communicates correctly and below £20 debt on the energy supply you need to top up. You cannot get the credit if:
- You still have credit available on your meter
- You have more than £50 debt on a meter
- You requested a Power Up for your other meter more than 10 hours ago
- You have requested an account credit from the Extra Care team over the phone
- You do not have a smart meter
- Utilita cannot communicate with your smart meter
To apply you must download the My Utilita app. You can apply for Power Up from the Home or Payments screen in the app.
Start by telling Utilita when you can next top up. Then you select a Power Up amount and a recovery rate.
This means when you next top up your meter some of the money you add will go towards paying back your emergency credit. This method allows you to choose the best way of repaying the advance.
British Gas
British Gas customers can get a £10 credit on the meter if it runs out. To qualify you must have a normal credit balance of below £1.
British Gas will deduct the amount you used when you next top up your meter which means if you use £5 of emergency credit it will show you owe £5. Then when you next top up it will take that £5 off your payment.
To take up the emergency credit on a pr-payment gas or electric key meter you must have your key in the meter. A flashing “e” on the display means that emergency credit is available but a solid “e” means that your meter is already in emergency credit.
Your supply will disconnect once the emergency credit has been used. You will need to pay enough money to repay the emergency credit and any amount outstanding that are owed before being reconnected as well as money for normal usage.
Octopus
People with a smart meter can get £10 emergency credit on both gas and electricity. You can activate emergency credit on your In-Home Display (the little screen which shows you information about your meter).
If the meter screen is off, press either button once to wake it up. The screen will show a message about activating emergency credit.
Press either button once to activate emergency credit. Important: If your supply is already off, make sure any electrical appliances are switched off before reconnecting your electricity supply.
People without a smart meter could get up to £30 of emergency gas or electricity credit. This is £10 for electricity and £20 for gas.
You must be down to the last £1 of your electricity credit or £2 of your gas credit to qualify. Put your electricity key or gas card to activate the emergency credit.
Any emergency credit you use will be taken off the balance the next time you top up. However if the emergency credit runs out and you cannot afford to top up the meter then contact your supplier as soon as possible with by emailing [email protected] or calling 0808 164 1088 between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Thursday and 9am to 4pm on Friday.
The provider might be able to give additional support. Any borrowed money must be repaid but the cost can be spread out.
It said: “We may be able to provide you with additional support to get back on supply. You will need to pay back any borrowed credit, but we can spread the cost so you’re only ever paying what you can afford.”
The firm also urged people to contact them if they are struggling. It says: “We know it can be scary to ask for help, but if you have prepayment meters and are unable to top up, please get in touch.
“We may be able to offer you extra credit as a loan (also called additional support credit), which can be repaid in manageable daily instalments and deducted from your balance when your meter is in credit. This way, we can make sure that the repayment fits comfortably within your budget.”
EDF
Electricity
The firm says: “We never want you to be without an energy supply, so we put £10 of emergency credit on your electricity prepayment meter. This gives you some extra time to get to the shop and top up.
“You can use your emergency credit when the balance on your electricity meter drops to 50p or less. This is when your meter will give you a warning beep and you’ll see a flashing ‘e’ on the screen. To start using your emergency credit, just take your key out of the meter, then put it back in.”
To pay it back just top up your key as normal. Your electricity won’t come back on until you’ve paid back this debt. So your top-up needs to cover:
- The emergency credit you’ve used
- Any missed standing charges or debt repayments (you don’t pay these when you’re using emergency credit)
Gas
It will also give you £10 of emergency credit on your gas prepayment meter. It says: “This gives you some extra time to get to the shop and top up. You can use your emergency credit when the balance on your gas meter drops to £0.
“To start using your emergency credit, just take your card out of the meter, then put it back in.” You can either pay back all your emergency credit debt in one go – or you can pay it back in stages.
To pay back all your emergency credit debt in one go you need to top up your card with enough credit to cover:
- The emergency credit you’ve used
- Any missed standing charges or instalment plan payments
- Your ongoing gas use
When you put your card in the meter, it will take a payment to clear your debt. Any credit left after that pays for your ongoing energy use.
To pay back your emergency credit debt in stages you need to put your card in the meter. EDF will then automatically take 70% of your credit to pay some of the debt.
The remaining 30% is put towards your everyday use. This will continue until the emergency credit debts are repaid.
What should I do if I am struggling?
MoneySavingExpert says talk to your supplier ASAP. It says: “If you’re falling behind with your energy bills, and finding yourself struggling to pay, the best thing to do is contact your supplier as soon as possible.
“Under rules from regulator Ofgem, your supplier has to help you – usually by negotiating a payment plan that you can afford. There are a range of options suppliers could offer if you’re struggling, including:
- A full payment plan review
- Affordable debt repayment plans
- Payment breaks (though this won’t be right for everyone)
- Payment reductions
- More time to pay
- Access to hardship funds
What help you can get is decided on a case-by-case basis, but importantly, repayment must be based on your ability to pay. So get in touch with your supplier as soon as possible.
Other help
You may be able to get a grant from your energy supplier if you cannot afford to pay back your debt. The following suppliers offer energy grants:
- British Gas – Energy Support Fund
- Scottish Power – Hardship Fund
- Ovo – Customer Support Package
- E.ON Next – Energy Fund
- EDF Energy – Customer Support Fund
- Octopus – Octo Assist Fund
If you can’t get a grant from your supplier then you may be able to get a grant from the British Gas Energy Trust. These grants are available to anyone – you do not need to be a British Gas customer.