do powergen help those who cant afford to keep warm?

Capyboppy

From what I gather from my pensioner friend, staywarm is great in the winter when you don't have to think twice about turning the heating up, but in the warmer months when you don't use it as much it can seem it isn't such a good idea. I would like to think overall throughout the year it would balance out to be economical, but it appears that isn't always the case.

cattie

You have my sympathy, I too suffer with a condition that affects my immune system & I feel the cold dreadfully & every winter fear the high heating bills.

Though you may not be able to put the heating on because of the cost, you must adopt other cheap measures to ensure you stay reasonably warm. Wear as many layers of clothing as possible. Tights under trousers help keep you warmer, a hat or hood stops your body heat escaping. I wear one in the house when feeling chilled to the bone as I gave up long ago worrying what I looked like, keeping warm & well is the important thing.

Wrap yourself in a duvet when in the living room relaxing or watching tv. Invest in an electric blanket so you can have a nice warm bed to fall into at night.

Is there anywhere you can go during daytimes where you can be warm & help save on heating your home? A group or somewhere you could be nice & warm for free for a few hours?

Sorry I've got no suggestions for helping your bill be paid, but wanted to try to help you keep a bit warmer.

tk

Cardew wrote:

If there are firms who 'help' with heating bills for those on benefit, are there any that 'help' with internet charges? and cheaper computers perhaps?

well cardew, thanks for the reply, but i was asking about heating help not free or cheap pc's although i do think there are some schemes run by the government (or will be) to make sure every house has use of a pc.

i wouldlove to be one of the first in the queue for a free pc, mine in not just second hand its about 6th user, is way to old to play any decent games the kids may be bought for xmas/birthdays and just about holds an internet connection!
;O)

tk

cattie wrote:

You have my sympathy, I too suffer with a condition that affects my immune system & I feel the cold dreadfully & every winter fear the high heating bills.

Wrap yourself in a duvet when in the living room relaxing or watching tv. Invest in an electric blanket so you can have a nice warm bed to fall into at night.


thanks cattie for the helpful post. i must admit i never wear a hat indoors, must remember that! i have a sleeping bag around my body as i sit and type. looking forward to the warmer weather....

equine_induced_poverty

ways to cut back on electricity usage;

use economy seven if it is available.
use timers i.e. the freezer will NOT defrost if you turn it off for twelve hours, neither will the fridge heat up! (well it doesnt in my house...)
dont use a tumble drier.
dont use the cooker if you can use the microwave.
cook in bulk and freeze it.
dont overfill the kettle.
dont wash clothes unnecessarily.

Stay warm with hot water bottles, extra duvets and blankets, dont heat unused rooms, exercise and wear lots of clothes, (I am wearing coat, hat, fingerless mits, two pairs socks and thermals, plus the ordinary stuff of course!)

My house has no heating at all except one log fire... and yes I am blue and it is freezing!!!!

good luck

thetope

you say you have energy saving light bulbs, tank lagging etc, do you have cavity wall insulation? reason i say is that my OH was burning 500l of heating oil (costing £170) in under 6 weeks in winter, then he got cavity wall insulation put in, it cost £190 with a grant (3 bedroom semi), but i'm sure would be almost fully subsidised if you're on benefits. Since the cavity wall insulation has been installed, the same amount of oil lasted almost 4 months... it has thirded his heating bill and almost paid for itself already!

Capyboppy

Yes, we have cavity wall insulation. If I remember we actually had it done twice, as the first company didn't seem to do part of it properly. I was under the impression that when they put it in, it is like a liquified polystyrene, that hardens. When the Council were messing about putting air vents in we were amazed to find piles of polystyrene beads coming out by the handful. You are correct in saying if on Benefits you get the full cost paid for.

Most of the tips that have been quoted we already do, apart from husband's annoying habit of overfilling the kettle. (gas not electric.) One thing I don't recommend is turning off the freezer and fridge as in most cases especially with the fridge the temperature does drop and this could lead to food poisoning, especially in the vulnerable. In fact leaving the fridge door open for five minutes would take several hours for the temperature to get back to where it was. I use a fridge thermometer to monitor to correct temperature, and always cool down food as quickly as possible for safety. The only other thing mentioned that is a problem with those who are unwell, we can't always have the health to cook from scratch to do the bulk cooking. I love cooking but there are some days when it is just a struggle to function with the basics, such as living I have a family slow cooker to try and bulk cook when I can, but I can't lift the cooker out afterwards to clean it and have to rely on my husband to do this. If he is having a bad time too, the cooker is just left there stinking for several days. Sort of defeats my "observe the health and safety thing" doesn't it? :rotfl:

black-saturn

I was in the same situation with my ex. He was up to his eyeballs in debt and an alcoholic and he never put the heating on. We were always freezing to death. I kept warm by putting a blanket round me, having hot drinks and a hot water bottle.

First you have to ask yourself how the heating bill got so high in the first place. Then ring your supplier and explain the situation. If they cant help go to the CAB. Last but not least dont hesitate in putting the heating on. So what if you cant afford it? Whats the worst they can do to you?

Capyboppy

In my case it is a mixture of things. The main one being that when the rep worked out what the savings/payments would be if I changed was done wrongly in my opinion. In fact at the time when he told me what my payments would be, I actually asked for them to be £5 a month higher than what he said. (Just as well.) In addition I can only think that I am feeling the cold more, and the weather has been particularly harsher the last two years. Originally SP wanted to put up my monthly payments by £25 a month. I rang them in a right state saying they couldn't do this as the rep had worked out with his machine what I use and what the payments would be. They said that wasn't their problem as they weren't there at the time and there was nothing they could do. They could lower it by £5 and that was it. I told them that they had been basing the arrears on the winter months and it would even out to some degree over the spring and summer. I said whatever the amount outstanding was at the end of the anniversary year could be spread out over the next 12 months. (Apparently SP are well known for trying this trick I later found out.) At the end of the anniversary year they told me my payments would stay the same despite being £160 behind. I let the payments stay the same, but have tried to pay off £10--15 pounds extra a month plus a small lump sum, but am still quite a bit behind. A few weeks ago they tried the same trick again as last year, and I said that they could put it up £10 a month and we would see where we were at the end of the anniversary year. They were reluctant to, even after my pointing out I had made the extra payments. At the end of the day although you say "What is the worst they can do," if they wanted to they could cut you off. Apart from that, the last thing I want is an increasing debt to worry about even if it does mean we stay warm. As I have said before, it's bad enough now, but don't know what we will do when the capped rate ends next March. Read in the Mail on Sunday that if two companies in France merge it could mean the bills go up again by 25% which is crazy. It doesn't just affect us, there are lots of small businesses that are struggling with the continual price rises, some that say they will be going out of business soon if this continues.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Cardew wrote:

If there are firms who 'help' with heating bills for those on benefit, are there any that 'help' with internet charges? and cheaper computers perhaps?

hmm a little sarcasm???