Case Study: Helping Miss H with her energy bills

This month, we aided Miss H in securing a £300 grant to put towards her gas and electricity bills from charity Independence at Home.

Miss H has lived in her two-bedroom mid-terrace home in Radford for six years. She suffers with COPD and emphysema and has mobility problems. In April 2020 during the first Coronavirus lockdown, Miss H was struggling to afford to pay for her gas and electricity due to spending increased amount of time at home, and having her carer live with her. She picked up a Power Up Health leaflet in the midnight pharmacy which mentioned that help was available to pay energy bills. Miss H gave us a call and spoke to our Customer Service Advisor Sophie, who completed a full Home Energy and Wellbeing Assessment over the phone.

Due to Miss H’s health problems, we were able to apply for a grant from Independence at Home (http://www.independenceathome.org.uk), a charity which works to ‘improve independence, comfort, safety, dignity and quality of life for people with long-term illness and disability’. Miss H was awarded £300 to put towards her gas and electricity bills. The grant was credited to her gas and electricity account in May 2020.

We were also able to register Miss H for our Priority Service Register. This is a free service for those over the age of 60, anyone living with a child under the age of five or anyone living with a chronic health condition. On the Priority Service Register, Miss H will receive at least two days advanced notice of any planned electricity interruptions. In the event of an unplanned power cut, she will have a special telephone number to get through to Western Power Distribution, and could even receive assistance from the British Red Cross.

The grant from Independence at Home has allowed Miss H to use her gas and electricity without fear of running into arrears with her energy supplier. Miss H can also rest assured that in the event of a power cut, she will be supported by us at Western Power Distribution until the power comes back on. Thanks to Power Up Health, Miss H was able to stay warm and comfortable in her home over the lockdown period.

Miss H commented: “When Sophie told me she could apply for a grant – I thought, brilliant!” “I never expected to receive a grant […] I’m very happy to have gotten help [from Power Up Health] – thank you.”

For more information, visit our priority services register and addressing fuel poverty pages.