Practical energy support this winter

The pressure is still very much on households up and down the country. If you are finding yourself more and more anxious about your energy costs, you’re not alone – an estimated 12.1 million households are struggling with the cost of their energy bills. So to help, we want to highlight some of the practical energy support that is on hand to help.

For most of us, energy bills are the second most important payment after mortgage or rent, so it can understandably feel quite stressful. If you have concerns about your energy bills this winter, ivie is here to help.

In this blog we’re covering a variety of practical energy support sources, some advice on how to tackle the mental impact of fuel fears, as well as pointing towards the free ivie app features to help you take measurable steps of reducing your usage.

Practical energy support resources

Contact your energy supplier

Your first port of call if you’re struggling to balance your bills would be to contact your energy supplier to discuss your circumstances, and to see if there is any help they can offer you.

Don’t suffer in shame or silence. While energy companies might seem like an unfriendly or imposing entity, they have departments set aside specifically to help customers in situations like this. They are often more supportive than you might think – it might be that your supplier can arrange a longer-term payment plan, or take into account circumstances they were unaware of.

💡 ivie top tip: there are some great peer support groups on Facebook, such as Energy Support and Advice UK, that share useful information and education around who to talk to.

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice has a wealth of resources to help you. From how to claim the Warm Home Discount to how fuel vouchers work, it is well worth checking out.

You can find information on various grants and financial support here, and additional topics related to bills assistance here.

British Gas Energy Trust

Most of the UK’s energy suppliers offer various grants as a safety net, to help you from falling into debt. However if you don’t qualify for any of these grants then you may still be eligible for the British Gas Energy Trust, which helps people with energy debts.

To qualify you will need to get a record of debt advice from a trusted organisation, such as debt charity StepChange. You do NOT need to be a British Gas customer to qualify.

💡 ivie top tip: check out this list of government-funded resources, from winter fuel payments for pensioners to schemes to help you afford improved home insulation.

Mental health support

We recently featured Naama Zusman, a life coach and mindset expert, who explained how to build healthy habits around home energy. She also had some great advice on how to keep negative thoughts at bay if you’re feeling increasingly anxious about your energy costs.

“You can always decide,” she says. “How you feel is up to you. At some point you will always have to deal with a bill, or face up to an uncomfortable situation. You can try to bury it, or ignore it – but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”

Instead, Naama recommends being proactive and intentional, arming yourself with the knowledge and data you need to fully understand your usage and expected costs. “You’re fighting against reality; the reality is that your electricity usage costs you money.”

Sticking your head in the sand over your situation will only accrue more anxiety in the long-run. “Our brains will always prefer a short-term gratification over a long-term reward,” Naama warns. But it’s much better to do educate yourself about your home energy use than it is to just cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Use the information at your disposal with the ivie app to be able to make empowered decisions. You can see exactly where your energy is going with ivie’s clever Activity Insights, and track your daily usage levels with an easy colour-coded system: green for days of lower than average use; orange for expected use; red for high usage days.

“The knowledge of being in control makes it easier to manage bills, even if you’re not able to save that much,” she says. “Because then you won’t be worrying, or wondering ‘how much could it be?’”

Naama suggests using a singular phrase to help re-set your mindset towards bills: ‘How do I want to feel?’

Mindfulness Techniques

It’s easy to say ‘let go of things not in your control’, but if you’re fearful of how you’ll keep the lights on or feed your family then it’s not particularly helpful advice. Instead, Naama has three useful mindfulness tips for if your anxiety is starting to feel overwhelming:

1. “Something quick and easy is to put your hands over the crown of your head for one minute while closing your eyes. Apply pressure, and focus on the soles of your feet. This will help you feel grounded.”
2. “Schedule in worry time. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it can really help. Give yourself 10 minutes to worry – dump it all out of your head, write it all down – then put your worries down and carry on. It’s like thought downloading, just like clearing out your computer files.”
3. “A great technique to immediately help calm yourself is to list five things you can see. Then four things you can feel. Three things you can hear. Two things you can smell. And finish with one good thing about yourself. It really helps to re-orient yourself in the here and now.”

Remember – you’re not alone

We hope the content of this blog has been helpful. Knowledge is power; if you can know and understand where in the home you’re using the most energy, you can make changes to help lower it.

Learn to understand your energy data. Talk to your energy supplier, and don’t be afraid to ask for support and advice. And try these helpful mindfulness techniques to park your worries when they begin to feel overwhelming.

Looking to make a change? Here are 5 quick switches you could make to reduce energy use.