Affordability
Our 2022 Energy Support Fund
We set up our Energy Support Fund in November 2022 to help support vulnerable households in the UK and US. We pledged £50 million in the UK and $17 million in the US, working with charity partners to help thousands of people with energy advice, emergency funding and energy efficiency measures.
The main tranche of our funding was for non-profit organisations on the front line of the energy crisis who were designated as our charity partners. The support fund helped with:
- providing emergency financial relief to households that use pre-payment energy meters
- funding energy efficiency measures to help lower bills over the longer term
- providing advisory services for households which need help with energy bills, debts and more
Several US partnerships were also created across our operational footprint in New England and New York. Between these organisations, support was provided to help customers manage increasing prices, rising energy costs and inflation – all of which combined threaten the budgets of many households. We supported customers across New York and Massachusetts with grants to address rising heating bills, food insecurity and support for small businesses that ultimately will benefit hundreds of thousands of customers and help to address the unprecedented economic challenges that the winter brings.
You can read about some of the people supported across the UK in these case studies:
Outcomes of our Energy Support Fund in the UK
We worked with key charity partners to help provide emergency financial relief, fund energy efficiency measures, provide advisory services for households, support energy bill assistance, and emergency food support programmes for low-to-moderate-income customers. This support fund benefited 259,884 households across our UK footprint.
Find out moreOur new Grid for Good Energy Affordability Fund
Building on the success of our 2022 Energy Support Fund, we have now launched our Grid for Good fund.
The £13.8 million Grid for Good Energy Affordability Fund will run for three years, with £3.5m per year donated to charities and organisations providing immediate financial relief to vulnerable households in the UK. The remaining £3.3m will be targeted at similar organisations in the US.
The first £1.2 million of UK funding has been allocated to:
- The National Energy Foundation, who work to help improve the energy efficiency of homes, offers advice and guidance on lowering energy bills and delivers practical solutions to make homes warmer.
- National Energy Action, who work with communities to ensure people can be warm at home.
- The Fuel Bank Foundation, who provide emergency financial support and advice to households with a prepayment meter that are in fuel crisis and at risk of living without heat, light and power.
- Affordable Warmth Solutions, who provide new, free home insulation and other energy efficiency measures to households who don’t qualify for government programmes.
Read more about our new Grid for Good Energy Affordability Fund.