18th December 2006

The Home Heat Helpline today urged anyone worried that a friend, neighbour or family member might be having trouble heating their home this winter, to give them the perfect Christmas present by calling the Home Heat Helpline - 0800 33 66 99 - to receive free advice and information on both government and supplier grants that could help heat and insulate their home this winter.

This Christmas up to 3 million people in the UK could have trouble heating their homes or paying fuel bills. To help vulnerable people such as older people, the disabled and young families the Home Heat Helpline wants everyone to check whether a friend, neighbour or family member is having a problem keeping themselves adequately warm over the festive period.

For those that may be worried about managing their fuel bills, the Home Heat Helpline - 0800 33 66 99 - which is funded by Britain’s energy retailers provides free advice and offers information on the grants available from the government and from suppliers. Those calling the freephone number will be able to speak to expert advisors, including former health professionals, who are trained to give advice on how to stay warm during the cold weather. The Helpline welcomes calls from concerned friends, family, carers, social workers or health visitors.

In its first 12 months 38,000 people called the helpline and in the last year more than one in four (27 per cent) of those who have called the Helpline have saved money on their utility bills and more than 1 in 10 (13 per cent) have accessed benefits of which they were previously unaware.

Duncan Sedgwick, Chief Executive of the Energy Retail Association said,

“Whilst most people will be concentrating on getting their loved ones the best present this Christmas there will be a large number of people whose number one priority is just to keep warm over the festive period.”

“If anyone is concerned that a loved one or neighbour may struggle keeping their home warm this Christmas they should call 0800 33 66 99 to gain valuable advice and, if eligible, access important grants and benefits to help heat and insulate their home.”

To help those worried about heating their homes this winter the Helpline has launched a range of guides for consumers, charities and advice groups. These include digital guides that can be downloaded from the Home Heat Helpline website which contain information and advice on insulating homes properly, making sure homes are as energy efficient as possible and providing information on how people can register for extra services to ensure they are warm this winter.

Ends

Photos are available on request

Notes to Editors:

Four Communications
0870 420 3245
HHH@fourcommunications.com

Home Heat Helpline
Suzi Darsa – 020 7747 5436
suzi.darsa@energy-retail.org.uk

1. Photography from a Christmas photocall held at the Helpline centre is available on request.

2. The Home Heat Helpline operates from Monday to Friday 9am-8pm and from 10am-2pm on Saturday. There is a free minicom number (0800 027 2122) and the Helpline also has access to interpreters for those callers whose first language is not English.

3. The Helpline is operated by the essentiagroup and is staffed by expert advisers, including former health professionals, who are trained to give advice on how to stay warm during the cold weather. They are also trained and authorised to deal with intermediaries calling on behalf of vulnerable customers, such as friends, carers, social workers or health visitors.

4. The Home Heat Helpline was launched by the Energy Retail Association which was established in October 2003 and is the only dedicated trade association for domestic energy suppliers in the UK. More information can be found at www.energy-retail.org.uk

5. The Home Heat Helpline is a free service for all British citizens and is funded by Britain’s six major energy suppliers. It is the only such helpline service that aims to tackle fuel poverty. The energy suppliers spent £300 million between 2002 – 2005 on tackling fuel poverty and have committed to spend a further £700 million over the next 3 years on this important issue.

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