It continues to be a terrible state of affairs that an annual, national fuel poverty conference is needed, but we remain grateful to NEA for providing this opportunity for local, regional, and national organisations to gather together, hear any breaking news, digest the latest data around fuel poverty and excess winter deaths, and share best practice among ourselves.
The title of this Winter’s conference is disheartening: the Energy Crisis has been with us now for over two years, and while there seems to be a general consensus that energy costs will drop a little further in 2024, there’s no real light at the end of the tunnel for millions of households struggling to cope with massively inflated bills.
Our Business Relationship Manager, Dominic Griffiths, attended the conference to gather insights, and has compiled the following notes:
NEA’s Chief Executive, Adam Scorer (pictured), delivered a keynote speech, including the worrying statistic that 41% of prepay meters “self-disconnected” during Autumn 2023. Adam says “crisis is when your coping mechanisms fail you.”
From January 2024, there will be 6.5 million UK households living in fuel poverty.
Ros Kane from Fuel Bank Foundation advises that, despite the massive rise in energy bills, approximately 90% of prepay customers still like prepay.
Yes Energy Solutions find only 20% of clients experiencing fuel crisis (i.e. prepay customers at risk of self-disconnection) will continue to engage with additional support offered (e.g. tips on how to reduce ongoing energy bills, and help to apply for grants to make the property warmer and more energy efficient).
Octopus Energy has recruited social workers to support their staff and customers, due to a rise in “crisis calls” (e.g. domestic violence and suicidal thoughts).
Frazer Scott, Chief Executive Officer of Energy Action Scotland, advises the Scottish Ambulance Service has produced data showing an increase in ambulances responding to symptoms of hypothermia.
John French, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Utility Regulator, advises there are no standing charges on energy meters in Northern Ireland, making us wonder why they’re considered unavoidable by energy suppliers in England.
During the “retrofitting fuel poor homes: how can we go further and faster?” breakout session, there was general agreement that there needed to be a “fabric first” approach, with “long-term funding” in place. The current iteration of the Energy Company Obligation is due to end in 2026, but we have targets to achieve Net Zero by 2050. We need obligations that span decades, not 2 or 4 years.
Danni Barnes from NEA described their priorities for “Winter and beyond,” including engaging marginalised communities, focusing on health inequalities, targeting the private rental sector, encouraging smart meter adoption, and retrofit projects
Highlights
There were lots of new faces at the conference. NEA has themselves grown considerably in 2023, recruiting 30 new Energy Advisors. There were also representatives from community organisations who are new to the area of providing energy advice. It was great to hear their enthusiasm for providing advice and support to households in fuel poverty, and/or fuel crisis.
Martin Lewis (pictured) made an appearance, via pre-recorded video link. His enthusiasm for ensuring everybody has all the facts at their disposal can be quite infectious, and until he appeared he’d even been a little conspicuous in his absence. He heaped plenty of praise on the frontline workers present, going into the homes of people in fuel poverty, to address the issues and support with solutions.
Lowlights
Unfortunately, the problem is getting worse, not better. Despite the millions of pounds spent on fuel vouchers, they’re merely a sticking plaster and the underlying cause of the fuel crisis needs to be assessed by a thorough intervention, that people experiencing fuel crisis are not necessarily ready to engage with. There has also been millions of pounds spent on retrofit measures, lifting some households out of fuel poverty. The fact that there is still a rising number of households in fuel poverty suggests these grants and schemes aren’t going far enough, or fast enough.
In the exhibition centre, NEA had laid out some of the “(Not) Coping Strategies” that can be seen in the homes of people experiencing fuel poverty/fuel crisis. Pictured (right) you can see such lowlights as a fridge not being switched on, despite life-saving medicine requiring refrigeration, and a barbecue being used to cook food indoors, which is both a fire safety hazard, and a potential source of lethal carbon monoxide.
The Merseyside Fuel Poverty Conference takes place on Friday, 19th March 2021 from 1:00pm- 3:30pm, sponsored by British Gas Energy Trust.
This online conference is set to bring together front-line practitioners and experts within the fuel poverty and energy industry to learn from industry experts and create solutions for fuel poverty within our region.
Starting at 1:00pm with contributions and presentations from:
Jessica Taplin, Chief Executive, British Gas Energy Trust
Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region
Ed Kingsley, Strategic Housing & Investment, Wirral Council
Neil Barnes, Deputy Director Future Retail Markets, Ofgem
Presentations will be followed by a panel Q&A session.
Delegates will then be invited to join breakout sessions to meet in smaller groups for collaboration, discussion, and possible solutions on four meaningful topics:
1. Online community engagement 2. Retrofit- TECHNOLOGY barriers 3. Retrofit- FINANCIAL barriers 4. How ‘Green’ are vulnerable clients?
Energy Projects Plus has hosted the Merseyside Fuel Poverty Conference since 2013.
The conference aims to bring together front-line practitioners and experts within the fuel poverty and energy industry to learn from industry experts and create solutions for fuel poverty within our region.
For more information on our Fuel Poverty Conference, visit:
Energy Projects Plus’ CEO, Peter Owen, opened the conference, which was attended by over
70 delegates from local authorities, utilities, housing providers, health sector, charities, social enterprises, and private businesses.
First to speak was Rachel Wookey, Environmental Public Health Scientist from Public Health England,
who spoke about the link between Public Health and Fuel Poverty. Rachel Wookey presentation
Alan Clifford, Fuel Poverty Strategy Lead, Department of Energy & Climate Change spoke on
“Cutting the cost of keeping warm: preparing for a Government Strategy for fuel poverty” Alan Clifford presentation
Ed Kingsley from Wirral Borough Council spoke
on the “The developing role of Local Authorities” Ed Kingsley presentation
Ed Matthew, Director of the Energy Bill Revolution spoke
on the work of the Energy Bill Revolution campaign. Ed Matthew presentation
Steve Lauri from E.ON spoke on
“ECO Obligated suppliers: part of the solution” Steve Lauri presentation
Question and Answer session with all guest speakers.
Energy Projects Plus is hosting its 2nd annual Merseyside Fuel Poverty Conference on Wednesday 1st October 2014, from 9.15am – 3.30pm at Liverpool Cathedral.
Bringing together representatives from key organisations and sectors across Merseyside including local authorities, utilities, housing providers, health sector, charities, social enterprises, and private businesses the conference will provide an important opportunity to influence the future approach on fuel poverty at both a national and local level.
Speakers include:
Alan Clifford, Fuel Poverty Strategy Lead, Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC)
Rachel Wookey, Environmental Public Health Scientist, Public Health England
Steve Lauri, Business Development Account Manager, Energy Efficiency, E.ON UK
Ed Matthew, Director, Energy Bill Revolution
Ed Kingsley, Principal Housing Strategy Officer, Wirral Council
Issues covered will include the impact of fuel poverty on public health, the role of utilities in achieving a lasting reduction in fuel poverty, and the potential for a national energy efficiency programme that also brings the promise of sustainable employment to areas of need.
The conference will also provide an important opportunity to hear directly about the Government’s proposed Fuel Poverty Strategy and speak directly to DECC as part of their consultation process. Workshop sessions will discuss some of the key questions contained within the Government’s consultation document and enable Merseyside to feed back important issues directly to the DECC Team responsible for finalising the strategy.
Main office in Wallasey (option for flexible home/office working)
Pay Grade:
£24,536 per annum
Reporting to:
Project Manager
Working hours:
35 hours per week (occasional evening and weekend hours) or part-time as part of a job share arrangement
Permanent/Fixed Term
Permanent
Job Summary
You will work across a number of projects delivered by the charity to promote support available to residents and raise the profile of Energy Projects Plus, including promoting the work of the charity to partners and funders.
You will be forward thinking in the planning and design of key marketing campaigns to residents (direct mail, leaflets, posters, social media, press releases, newsletters) and directly responsible for their successful delivery. Through effective research you will also support key partners in sharing key campaigns. You will also be the brand guardian for the charity and work with colleagues to raise awareness and promote the outcomes achieved by the charity to funders, partners, and wider media.
Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities
Design and delivery of promotion campaigns across different projects provided by the charity ensuring complementary and reinforcing messaging.
Analysis of data to identify target audiences.
Design of audience focussed messages.
Design of campaigns suited to different channels including social media (e.g. facebook, X, Instagram), direct mail, posters and promotional leaflets.
Responsibility for maintaining and updating website and social media channels working alongside senior managers.
Design and maintenance of information sheets related to various measures and actions relevant to reducing energy demand, alternative tariffs and suppliers, renewable energy generation, and reducing fuel poverty.
Attending events, meetings, seminars, conferences to promote the work of the charity and develop joint messaging with partner organisations and funders.
Design and delivery of promotional materials to support projects and overall aims of charity.
Design and deliver marketing messages to promote the overall work of the charity to other organisations and funders.
Research new audiences and potential messages to increase the charity’s reach into the community and to people less connected to mainstream messaging and social media.
Creation of news stories and insights to be shared through newsletters and social media.
Design and publication of bi-monthly newsletters issued to partner organisations and published on website.
Supporting the production of high quality and successful applications to funders on behalf of the charity through e.g. powerful case studies and client feedback.
Adhering to service delivery procedures.
Conducting customer satisfaction, project related outbound and follow up calls as required.
Attending community and other events.
Maintaining up to date knowledge of schemes.
Constructively contributing through team meetings, informal dialogue, and gained experience to the effective delivery and continued improvement of the service.
Achieving targets to high quality standards.
Undertaking duties of colleagues when required to cover absence.
Other duties as may be required in a small office environment.
General Responsibilities and Accountabilities
To process data and perform other routine clerical tasks as assigned.
Establish and maintain effective working relationships.
Maintain regular consistent and professional attendance, punctuality, personal appearance, and adherence to relevant health & safety procedures.
To keep up to date within industry changes in relation to Energy Support and grants.
Pursue personal development of skills and knowledge necessary for the effective performance of the role.
Adhere to Health and Safety policies.
Adhere to procedures relating to the proper use and care of equipment and materials.
As sensitive personal data of Clients is managed a satisfactory DBS certificate is essential.
Key Interfaces
Partner organisations
Funders
Colleagues and managers
Liaising with internal departments as required
Working with third parties and suppliers
Qualifications
A recognised national marketing qualification (e.g. CIM, CAM, IDM) is desirable
City and Guilds 6281-01 (Energy Awareness) – training will be provided
Full clean driving licence and insurance for business use is desirable
Person Specification
Skill
Essential (E) / Desirable (D)
An approachable and confident manner in engaging with residents
E
Experience of developing and delivering cost effective consumer facing marketing campaigns within budgets
E
Experience of dealing with the media and of PR
D
Experience of customer segmentation and profiling
D
Experience of on-line marketing
E
Excellent presentational skills and attention to detail
E
Excellent and effective oral and written communication skills
E
Strong computer skills, including using on-line forms and design software
E
Knowledge of market research tools and techniques
D
Methodical time and workload management and ability to independently prioritise own workload, meet deadlines and achieve targets.
E
Ability to give and receive feedback objectively and sensitively and a willingness to challenge constructively.
E
Ability and willingness to work as part of a team by maintaining a flexible approach.
E
Experience of working within, and achieving and exceeding, set quality standards.
E
Ability to work in a time pressured environment whilst maintaining positive relationships with all contacts, particularly Clients, other support organisations, Clients’ utilities, and colleagues.
E
Full, clean driving licence and access to vehicle insured for business use.
D
Understanding of, and commitment to, the aims and principles of the Charity.
We were pleased to attend this conference at the end of June, held at Liverpool Hope University Creative Campus, hosted by the newly launched Poverty Research and Advocacy Network (PRAN).
As one of our dual charitable aims is the reduction of fuel poverty across Cheshire and Merseyside, we were keen to offer our local insights, and help drive the conversation, while learning as much as we can about other work in the arena of poverty prevention/relief.
As well as attending as delegates, Katie (pictured, above) delivered an advice stall over lunch, to show other delegates the kind of stall we deliver at community events, and offer them the opportunity to take away some of our literature, and subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter.
During the final discussion panel, Dominic (pictured right, 3rd from left) was challenged to define “what good would look like” in terms of the eradication of poverty. Dominic outlined the current definition of fuel poverty in England, which is:
The property has an EPC rating of E-G, and
The total net household income would be pushed below the poverty line, should the household heat their home to a sufficient standard.
UK government’s intention to raise as many fuel poor properties as practicable to an EPC rating of A-C by 2030 will essentially eliminate fuel poverty in England, under this current definition. However, Dominic was keen to point out that our work would continue to assist people who struggle to afford to heat their homes sufficiently. We will therefore need to increase our use of the term “Affordable Warmth” in place of “Fuel Poverty” to describe the work we do.
Dominic suggested the current definition of poverty as being households earning below 60% of the median national income means poverty will be with us forever. Even if all households can afford to thrive and do not consider themselves poor, there will always be somebody earning below 60% of the median national income. Therefore, to eradicate poverty we need to redefine it in terms of “absolute” rather than “relative” poverty, and we can only then set targets to reduce it and ultimately eradicate it.
Well, just as we started to see the flowers and blossoms start to appear… BAM! winter came back with a vengeance!
Luckily, Energy Projects Plus is always here to help the Merseyside and Cheshire communities stay warm.
In this issue you will find: Free courses to help Wirral residents save money on energy bills, Money Saving Expert energy update, damp and mould report from Mr. Griffiths, project updates, and more.
Do you know a Wirral community or group of residents who want to save money on their energy bills?
Energy Projects Plus can help! We have funding to offer Lifelong Learning Workshops for Wirral residents. The aim of these courses is to save learners money and help them address any issues or answer any questions they may have about home energy.
Our qualified tutor will come to your venue with all the materials needed to train your community.
Here is an outline of our most popular course:
“Taking Control of your Energy Bills”
2-Hour Workshop
Learning Outcomes: •Understanding the energy crisis, energy tariffs and payment methods •Identify recommendations and money saving opportunities on your home’s Energy Performance Certificate •Understanding your Energy Bill, is a smart meter right for you? •List the “Top Tips” for reducing household energy bills, which could save learners up to £581 a year!
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**NEW** “Saving Money On Energy” 1-Hour Workshop!!
Just an hour to spare? If so, we can cut right to the chase and focus on the list of “Top Tips” to save energy!
Let our tutor and trained energy advisor can go through the home, room by room, to give energy saving tips and advice to bring down energy costs by up to £581 a year!
Learning Outcomes: •Top tips so save money on home energy
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These courses are free for Wirral residents, funded by Wirral Lifelong Learning. Courses are available to book Mondays or Tuesdays through June 2023.
With energy bills at an all time high, it is important to understand what we can do to reduce our energy use. We can’t do much these days about the price per kilowatt hour (kWh), but what we can do is learn how to be more savvy!
If you have a venue and a group of 5 or more residents interested in saving money on their energy bills, we would like to offer you a course.
Funding and availability is limited.
For more information on offering a Lifelong Learning Energy Course to your community email melanie.nolan@epplus.org
Melanie
EPPlus Do Events!
Do you have an event coming up? Energy Projects Plus are delighted to be able to serve our community by attending events like coffee mornings, drop in events, fun days, information sessions, environmental awareness events, conferences, open days, or any other event you may think of!
We can set up a stall giving advice, deliver a presentation, hold a 1-2 hour workshop. We can bring a long some free lightbulbs or even showcase our electric company car!
We offer advice on subjects such as: • fuel poverty • energy crisis • climate action • energy efficiency • renewable energy • saving water • damp and mould • help with energy bills • affordable warmth • smart meter advice • home energy and EPC’s
If you have an event coming up and would like Energy Project Plus to attend you can email all the details including date, time and type of event to events@epplus.org
The TechKnow project is designed to empower Wirral residents to ‘do digital’ their own way, safely. Energy Projects Plus is ready to help our community make sense of technology and resources related to saving energy, saving water, and reducing their carbon footprint.
Energy Projects Plus has put together series of ‘Digital Drop-In Events’ to help give residents the support they need to make their digital life that little bit easier.
These events are running until the end of the month:
Monday 10:00am – 11:00am @ Open Door Charity, Bloom Building, 3 Abbey Close, Birkenhead, CH41 5FQ
Tuesday 2:00pm – 3:00pm @ The Community Village, New Chester Road, Rock Ferry, Wirral, CH42 1LE
We are seeking new Wirral venues to hold Digital inclusion events. To enquire email melanie.nolan@epplus.org
Damp and Mould
In light of the tragic death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale, which the coroner has linked with the presence of mould in the property, Energy Projects Plus is keen to work with partners to try to prevent a similar case from happening within Merseyside and Cheshire. To aid this, we have added “damp/mould” to the list of items on our General Referral form, here: www.epplus.org.uk/referrals so you can refer clients to us for help with damp/mould, even if they don’t need any further advice or support from us.
We have also decided these cases should be prioritised, and therefore we now have 3 priority groups:
•Vulnerable residents with no access to heat •Low-income prepay customers at risk of self-disconnection •Vulnerable residents living in homes with damp/mould
Wherever possible we will attempt initial contact with clients in any of these priority groups within a working day following receipt of referral. Referrals for clients not in any of these groups will be processed in date order, but there is likely to be a wait of several weeks before we’ll be able to speak with them.
What we can do
•We have advice on the topic of damp and mould, that anybody can access and share, here: www.epplus.org.uk/advice •All of our energy advisors are trained and qualified to detect and identify the most common forms of damp, suggest possible causes, and provide recommendations. •We can deliver advice and recommendations over the phone, or during a home visit. Please note, residents don’t need to keep mould to show us, they can take a photo to share with us, but should always wipe mould away quickly – preferably utilising a mould cleaner. •We can create an “observation report” following a home visit, providing the resident with a written record of what we saw on the day. This can be shared by the resident with their landlord, where appropriate.
What we can’t do
•We do not have funding available to repair roofs, to fix leaky plumbing, or to repair external drainpipes. Referrals to us in these cases wouldn’t be appropriate as the resident is likely to know the cause of the damp, and we can’t assist with the solution. •If a landlord is already involved in dealing with a damp/mould issue, there’s no need to refer the case to us as we’re likely to come to the same conclusions as the landlord.
Money Saving Expert Energy Announcement
As Martin Lewis advises here, bills may still be less affordable from April for a few months, as the £67 monthly reduction will cease.
But the current prediction is a 20% drop in July.
—
April as planned. We just wanted to give you a quick update on the energy market. The good news is the Government has confirmed it won’t be hiking bills by 20% from
MoneySavingExpert and Martin wrote to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt asking him to postpone the rise, which would have taken a typical bill on the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) – the state-subsidised rate almost everyone is paying right now – up to £3,000/year.
Our letter was backed by more than 110 charities and in today’s Budget the Chancellor confirmed the typical bill for someone paying by direct debit under the EPG would now stay at £2,500/year until July.
However, there will still be a rise for everyone in April as the Government’s £66/£67 a month energy support is ending. And what you actually pay will depend on your usage, where you live and your payment method.
Energy bills are currently set by a combination of the Ofgem Price Cap and the EPG. The Price Cap is based on wholesale prices and sets a limit on what firms can charge for each unit of gas and electricity, with the Government discounting these rates if the Cap is above the EPG level of £2,500/year.
With wholesale prices falling rapidly, analysts at Cornwall Insight are predicting the Price Cap will be around £2,000/year for a typical household from July, so the EPG will no longer apply, and we can expect to see lower bills.
We are also hearing murmurings that fixed energy deals could be coming back in the near future, so we will be in touch then with an update and what you need to know.
The MSE Cheap Energy Club team
CASE STUDY by Katie
“When myself and a colleague were attending an event in Liscard Cherry Tree Centre, a gentleman approached our table with quite a pessimistic demeaner. He said he felt isolated and abandoned by the governments assistance for households during COVID due to not being in receipt of benefits. The gentleman said he felt like he was drowning with the cost of living and couldn’t find help anywhere. I explained to him about the Wirral Council Direct Debit support fund and that the criteria didn’t stipulate that the claimant needed to be in receipt of benefits. Since the event the gentleman has sent me the relevant information and an application has been submitted to Wirral council for 6 months Direct Debit support that will offer the gentleman a total of £1100 if approved. The client was extremely grateful for any help at all as he had reached out to organisations previously and been turned away.”
Energy Projects Plus hosted its 2nd annual Merseyside Fuel Poverty Conference at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral on Wednesday 1st October 2014.
The conference was attended by 70 delegates who heard from a mix of great speakers, experts in their respective fields:
Alan Clifford, Fuel Poverty Strategy Lead, Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC)
Rachel Wookey, Environmental Public Health Scientist, Public Health England
Steve Lauri, Business Development Account Manager, Energy Efficiency, E.ON UK
Ed Matthew, Director, Energy Bill Revolution
Ed Kingsley, Principal Housing Strategy Officer, Wirral Council
The primary aim of the conference was to bring together key stakeholders in the fight against fuel poverty, which continues to be a significant issue across Merseyside, creating the opportunity to influence local and national plans as they are being developed.
The conference was attended by a cross-section of stakeholders that included local authorities, utilities, housing providers, health sector, charities, social enterprises, and private businesses.
Alan Clifford, from DECC, said
“It was great to be invited and meet so many people clearly concerned about fuel poverty, and wanting to help make a difference. It was also good to hear so many ideas being generated and nuggets of insight and expertise being shared. As I said, the forthcoming Strategy is just one step in the process, and we look forward to continuing to work with you – formally and informally – as we shape the next generation of fuel poverty policies.”
Following the morning plenary session, delegates participated in highly interactive discussions to share opinions on a response to some key questions asked by the Government’s consultation on their proposed fuel poverty strategy.
Feedback from delegates has been extremely positive with overwhelming confirmation of the value of the conference. One delegate commented,
“It brings expertise together and allows us to meet others and share ideas and information”
Building on the positive feedback from the conference we intend hosting the 3rd annual conference in early Autumn 2015, enabling us to build it around emerging themes of the new Government and the published fuel poverty strategy.
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