The specific focus of the Energy Affordability Fund is to meet the challenges facing vulnerable customers in the National Grid (formerly known as Western Power Distribution) Network Area, which covers:
o South West England.
o South Wales.
o West Wales, and
o The Midlands.
The Fund is designed to activities that meet one or more of the following objectives:
o Provision of in-depth one-to-one advice and support to enable vulnerable households to make their homes warmer, lower and manage their bills.
o Provision of support and advice to increase resilience of vulnerable households to severe winter weather and power cuts.
o Provision of support to enable customers to take up and benefit from low carbon technologies in the smart energy transition.
o Identification of new registrants for the Priority Services Register (PSR), which identifies the most vulnerable customers, and support to those already registered.
o Targeting of services to support households that are in areas of higher deprivation, at greater risk and not connected to the gas network.
o Targeting of services to support households that have difficulty accessing support (for example due to digital exclusion, rural isolation, or language barriers), and
o Working with healthcare providers, other support organisations and community partners, to raise awareness of the links between cold, damp homes and poor physical and mental health.
A wide range of organisations can apply for a grant of up to £40,000, providing they meet the following criteria:
o Are currently delivering one or more of the following 5 energy advice and outreach activities – or be able to demonstrate that they have delivered them within the previous 18 months:
1. Provide an existing energy advice service over the phone.
2. Provide home visits for complex cases.
3. Run events, drop-ins and workshops on domestic energy management and tariff switching.
4. Work as part of an existing referral network with other organisations on a receiving and referring to basis, and/or
5. Work in partnership with and offer training for frontline workers, staff and volunteers from other support organisations and community groups.
o Are based in the National Grid network area of South West England, parts of Mid & South Wales, west Wales or the Midlands.
o Are legally incorporated. However, unincorporated organisations may apply if they team up with a larger organisation. Statutory bodies and private entities will be eligible if they can demonstrate a significant need for the funding and why their proposed activities cannot be funded from existing sources, and
o Have a bank account.
Further information, guidance and an application form, which is also available in Welsh, can be found on the Centre for Sustainable Energy website (The Centre for Sustainable Energy is managing the Energy Affordability Fund on behalf of the National Grid).
The application deadline is midnight on Monday 27th March 2023, with successful applicants expected to be informed in mid-April 2023.
Please note that any funded activities or projects must take place between Monday 1st May 2023 and Tuesday 30th April 2024.
Contact details for the Fund are:
The Energy Affordability Fund
The Centre for Sustainable Energy
St James Court
St James Parade
Bristol
BS1 3LH
Tel: 0117 934 1400 (for general enquiries)
Email: energyaffordabilityfund(at)cse.org.uk
