Charities invited to bid for £22m energy bill fund to support disadvantaged households

Ofgem has opened the latest funding round for charities to access grants to support households tackle high energy bills.

The regulator’s Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme launched four years ago to support disadvantaged households struggling to pay their energy bills as well as develop products and services to reduce carbon emissions.

This latest round of funding will offer £22m in grants to charities and community groups to support households “most at risk from cold homes and high energy bills”. Ofgem has allocated £15.4m of the funding to support such households.

It also features a £3.3m packaging of Innovation Fund grants to develop innovative projects to support households.

A further £3.l3m has been set aside for a Carbon Emissions Reduction Fund.

The deadline for applications is 5pm, Thursday 6 October.

The scheme has already funded more than 400 projects through grants totalling £55.8m.

The money is raised through voluntary payments made by energy companies that breach Ofgem rules.

“These funds come at a crucial time and will help charities in local communities to scale up activities to support those most at risk from unprecedented energy costs this winter,” said Energy Redress Scheme senior project manager Graham Ayling.

“As a result, more people will have someone to turn to who can help them through this exceptionally difficult time.

“The funds will also help towards projects which will explore new ways to ensure that everyone benefits from the transition to a Net Zero future.”