Electric Charge Assistance

going.for.gold

An elderly relative has just had a through floor lift fitted my her council.
She was told that she can claim extra help with electricity bills ( she does already get the yearly payment) because the lift uses fuel. She is not sure if this is the case. I would be grateful for some help or any links to advise. Thanks :A

poppy12345

going.for.gold wrote: »

An elderly relative has just had a through floor lift fitted my her council.
She was told that she can claim extra help with electricity bills ( she does already get the yearly payment) because the lift uses fuel. She is not sure if this is the case. I would be grateful for some help or any links to advise. Thanks :A

I used to have exactly the thing in my previous house but was unable to claim any help towards the cost, other than the yearly payments available.



I was also told that the amount of electric they use in minimal because they are battery operated when in use. The electric used is just to charge the battery. I have no idea how true this is but to be honest, i never really seen much difference in my electric bill before i had the through floor lift.

NeilCr

Who told her she could get help?

going.for.gold

A lady at her OAP club, had a machine to refil her oxygen tanks for her COPD.
I have asked the council but they couldn’t help.
She is worrying about using it now because of the cost. It’s good to hear that it’s cheap to run though, thank you.

Robin9

Does she get DLA ?


That's what its for.

poppy12345

I was worried too when i first moved into the house. My local council told me at the time that there is no help for electric charges for these lifts. It wasn't until my lift was being serviced a few months later that the engineer told me that it costs very little to use. My electric bills proved he was right.



It helped me so much having that lift and i'm sure it will help your relative too but they shouldn't stop using it because they are scared of the cost. They should enjoy being able to get upstairs and having the freedom to move around their home as they please.

w06

The oxygen concentrator rebate is different to a lift, mine for example costs at least £50 a month in electricity, that's essentially a drug and is paid for via the oxygen supply company's contract (it's not something you apply for they monitor use and refund quarterly)

poppy12345

w06 wrote: »

The oxygen concentrator rebate is different to a lift, mine for example costs at least £50 a month in electricity, that's essentially a drug and is paid for via the oxygen supply company's contract (it's not something you apply for they monitor use and refund quarterly)

A through lift doesn't cost a fraction of that.

w06

I doubt there is any rebate for the cost of running the lift (i'm not certain though) if your relative is worried about the cost and that's putting them off using it you could estimate how much it will cost, do you know what model it is? I suspect the cost of a few up and down trips a day will be negligible cost and hugely outweighed by the benefits

sparkycat2

There used to be social tariffs but they have been phased out and replaced by warm homes discount.

There are also hardship funds run by energy suppliers for those in arrears. Including writing off arrears. Government funding to energy suppliers for writing off arrears is however being slowly reduced.

And for improving home energy efficiency there are energy grants.

While not energy. Some water companies have social tariffs. I have Thames Water social tariff which halves my water/waste water bill.