Dumfries & Galloway Citizens Advice Service (D&G CAS) is joining other bureaux across Scotland to help people with soaring energy bills this winter.
The Big Energy Saving Winter campaign is launched this week and will run for the next two months. It aims to help people save money by using less energy, and also provide information on grants that are available to help people who are in crisis.
The support D&G CAS can give you includes:
- Helping you identify grants or benefits that you may be entitled to but don’t know about.
- Talking to your energy supplier on your behalf, to re-structure any debts you may have and see if there’s any way they can help.
- Advising you on ways that you can cut energy use in your home, which could help with your bills.
- Advise you on how to use your prepayment meter, or what to do if your energy supplier has gone out of business.
The campaign comes during a difficult time for consumers this winter, with increasing energy bills following the price cap rise in October, rising inflation meaning higher prices in the shops, as well as reductions to Universal Credit.
Launching the campaign this week, D&G CAS CEO, Phil Stewart, states:
“The sharp rise in energy bills this year is really going to hit a lot of people in our community, particularly those who were already struggling with their bills. Around 1 in 4 households in Scotland were already in fuel poverty before this rise.
“We know that people can feel helpless and isolated when they can’t pay their fuel bills, especially at this time of year. So our message in this campaign is, you don’t need to feel powerless about rising energy costs, your D&G CAS is here to help you.
“Contact us on 0300 303 4321, or by email [email protected] or through our website at www.dagcas.org. If you prefer to get our information online, try our moneymap.scot tool to check those ways to increase your income. Or visit our general advice website at www.citizensadvice.org.uk/scotland.
“The main thing to remember is that you’re not alone. We’re here to help you, and our advice is free, confidential and impartial. I don’t want to see anyone in Dumfries & Galloway in fuel poverty this winter if we can possibly help avoid it.”
The campaign website is at www.cas.org.uk/BESW
