Fuel poverty

Fuel poverty is a serious and complicated issue, which energy suppliers are helping to tackle in a number of ways. A household is said to be in fuel poverty when its members cannot afford to keep their home adequately warm at a reasonable cost, given their income.

Fuel poverty in England is measured using the Low Income High Costs (LIHC) indicator. Under the LIHC indicator, a household is considered to be fuel poor if:

• you have required fuel costs that are above average (the national median level)
• if you spend that amount, you would be left with a residual income below the official poverty line

There are three important elements in determining whether a household is fuel poor:

• household income
• household energy requirements
• fuel prices

If you have any questions or concerns that you are in fuel poverty then please contact us, your energy supplier or one of the dedicated services below.

Warm Home Check Service

The Warm Home Check service is available all year round. It offers advice and support to anyone who struggles to keep warm at home. If you are on a low income you may also qualify for a free home visit, which will determine any assistance they are able to offer.

This service is provided by RetrofitWorks and Citizens Advice East Sussex. To find out more apply for a warm home check online, text WARM to 80011 or call 0800 464 7307.

Energy Saving Advice Service

Contact the Energy Saving Trust for:

• independent expert advice on saving energy in your home
• for funding requests for making energy efficiency improvements

Citizens Advice Bureau

The Citizens Advice Bureau provides independent confidential and impartial advice to everyone on your rights and responsibilities.

• Eastbourne: 01323 417177
• Lewes: 01273 473082

Peabody

The Peabody Charitable Trust service offers practical support, advice adaptations and information for older or disabled people in East Sussex.

• Contact 01424 839 600

Review your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)

You can view historic EPCs for your property or surrounding ones on the EPC Register website. This may help give you a better understanding of how you could improve the energy performance of your home.

If you decide you would like to have a more up to date EPC for your property, you can search for a Domestic Energy Assessor through the website.

Snow and ice advice

For helpful information for residents and businesses during periods of snow and ice please go to extreme weather snow and ice advice.

Apply for a grant or a loan

Find out about the types of grants and loans that are available to help home owners maintain and adapt their property.