Grants & Crisis Support

Home Here is a happy story – like lots of people, my energy company has changed, though it seemed to take months before I had an email from my new company, welcoming me and telling me what my bill was likely to be – huge, it turns out (sound familiar?)…. 4 figures in debt – I could not believe it, especially as I had cleared my balance this time last year, and was still paying a direct debit every month. A friend told me about Warm Connections; they are based from Aberfeldy and offer home energy advice, including helping to find support with unmanageable bills. Most important – they are free. I got in touch, spoke to Anna and arranged a time for them to visit. Anna and her husband Tom work together, and when they arrived we chatted through electricity usage and habits in the home; they made some easy-win suggestions for saving electricity, checked my radiators were set right, and added some insulation to pipes. Then we got down to the nitty-gritty of the offending bill.   Long story short, using the information I gave them Anna and Tom submitted an application for a crisis support payment, and within less than two days they had heard that the application had been successful and to my amazement a four figure payment would be made direct to my energy company….imagine my relief!! This piece of news meant that the majority of my outstanding balance would very soon be paid off.   So, why was my electricity bill so high? In part it was old, inefficient heaters which my housing association have now upgraded. I am also at home a lot and so the heating is on more than average. My direct debit will still need to go up, but at least I now have a chance to make it work. Warm Connections were just what I needed. There was no sense of rush – Anna and Tom spent the time and worked through the challenges, understanding my specific needs and suggesting solutions. You know the best bit of all – I think they were just as pleased as me when the money came through. Thanks to you both.   From Warm Connections: we are very aware that helping someone out of a crisis is essential, but at Warm Connections we are also committed to helping make the changes to our houses and the way we live to break the cycle of winter fuel debt. We can all make small changes to lessen our energy bills, and there are grants and loans to help with the all-important extra insulation, draught-proofing etc which are necessary to keep the heat in our homes rather than it escaping into the outside world. Previous Post

Home In March 2021 Jill was desperate; she was £1200 in energy debt.She was very careful and aware of her energy use, but things had got out of control. Here is her story:   “I had a sick friend staying, so the heating was on more than usual. My landlady had just upgraded our electric heating system – the new system is very easy to use, but electricity is expensive, and we are off the gas grid. Warm Connections were able to apply for support and all of my debt was paid off. I felt lighter, a huge weight lifted; it was a physical feeling and every part of me felt better. Last winter was tough; we did some preparation – stopping draughts, our landlady changed the oldest, coldest window and the house is now double glazed throughout. We changed the way we used the house in the cold, and we changed the way we did things when we used the kettle – only ever putting the exact amount of water we needed in. We used the fire more. We survived, and met our bills every month. And THEN came the energy price rises in April – it made me mad. We’ll be fine through the summer but I don’t know how we will manage next winter. I have been in touch with our energy company and have sorted a new tariff. We have done all the easy stuff and our landlady has been great. If we are going to manage next winter, we will need to do the faffy things – lining the curtains, door draught excluders, low water use shower head, and I have read that the microwave uses less energy too. We already grow loads of our own food, and cook from scratch. I am worried for us, but am also really worried for my friends. Warm Connections have helped loads – partly motivation, partly information, and partly providing actual energy saving measures.” Previous Post