Help with paying your energy bills

If you are worried about paying your gas or electricity bills you can ask for help.

This easy read tells you how to get help with your bills.

Your energy supplier is the company that sends you your gas or electricity bill.

You should tell your energy supplier if you cannot pay your bills.

Do not ignore bills from your energy supplier if you cannot afford them.

Mencap can help you if you or someone in your family has a learning disability .

You can contact the Mencap helpline to speak to our Energy and Money Advisers.

You can call the helpline on 0808 808 1111.

You can email the helpline at [email protected].

You can ask a family member, friend or support worker to help you contact Mencap.

You might be able to get extra money to help pay your gas or electricity bills.

Some places can give you a grant to help pay your bills.

A grant is money given to you that you do not have to pay back.

The British Gas Energy Trust gives grants to help people who owe money for their energy.

You do not have to get your gas or electrcity from British Gas to apply for the grant.

Your local council runs the Crisis and Resilience Fund to help with energy costs or other bills.

You can find out more about the Crisis and Resilience fund on Mencap's website.

The government has a scheme called the Warm Home Discount that can give you some money for your electricity bill.

There is Easy Read information about the Warm Home Discount on Mencap's website.

Your energy supplier might also have money to help people who cannot afford their bills.

You might be able to join the Priority Services Register .

The Priority Services Register is a lis of people who need extra support from their energy supplier.

 

You can join the Priority Services Register if you have a learning disability or another condition.

Contact your energy supplier if you want to join this register.

There is an Easy Read guide about the Priority Services Register on the Mencap website.

A prepayment meter is a box where you pay for your gas or electricity before you use it.

Tell your energy supplier straight away if you cannot afford to put money on your prepayment meter.

Your energy supplier might give you emergency credit to keep your gas or electricity running.

Contact your energy supplier immediately if they say they will turn off your gas or electricity.

Tell your energy supplier about your situation and ask if they can help you. 

You should tell your energy supplier if you need electricity for medical machines or equipment.

You do not have to do everything by yourself.

A family member, friend or support worker can help you.

You can ask your energy supplier to give you information in a way that is easy for you to understand.

Here are some things you can say to your energy supplier if you are worried about speaking to them.

You can say "I am struggling to pay my gas and electricity bills."

You can also say "Please can you tell me what help is available and what I need to do to get help?"

You can write down your questions on paper before you call the energy supplier if that helps you.

You can also ask someone you trust to help you while you make the phone call.