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UTILITY WEEK | 2ND - 8TH FEBRUARY 2018 | 21 Customers recent consultation, the vulnerable customer safeguard tariff will also provide further pro- tection for our vulnerable customers." Npower Npower's Energy Fund offers tailored sup- port to customers struggling to pay for energy debt. With support from the fund, customers are also encouraged to regain control of their overall finances and become financially sta- ble so they're able to pay future bills. Grants are awarded to help clear energy debt for customers who are committed to making reg- ular payments over a three-month period for their ongoing energy use. The Health Through Warmth (HTW) scheme helps people who fall outside statu- tory grant eligibility for heating measures – vulnerable, low income clients who have long-term health conditions and inad- equate heating or insulation. To be eligible, you don't need to be or become an Npower customer. The scheme, which has run for 17 years, has helped more than 83,500 people and provided assistance worth £90 million, including £14.3 million from Npower's own HTW Crisis Fund. The Npower Fuel Bank launched in April 2015 and aims to remove the stark choice between heating or eating. It has to date issued around 37,000 vouchers for food bank users who have prepayment meters, many of whom have gone without heat or electricity to save money. It currently runs in 14 areas and 65 food bank centres across the country. Of the 85,000 people who have been helped by the scheme, around 52,000 are adults and 33,000 children, and they've accessed over £1.5 million-worth of energy support. To help scale up the Fuel Bank scheme, the Npower Foundation was launched in November 2017. For customers who receive the WHD and are also on an SVT, Npower's Safeguard Tariff will protect customers from price increases. The Safeguard Tariff, which is set in line with Ofgem's Vulnerable Customer Cap, came into effect on 2 February 2018 and will affect approximately 115,000 Npower customer accounts. For a typical dual fuel customer, the cap will mean an annual reduction of £231 for receipt of bill custom- ers, or £136 a year for customers who pay via direct debit (figures based on typical domes- tic consumption). A spokesperson says: "In addition to the Safeguard Tariff, we've contacted all custom- ers in receipt of WHD with higher than aver- age consumption to ensure they have been offered energy efficiency support and a tariff health check. "We are also continuing to trial the Tariff- Check hotline for customers to discuss the best tariff for them. In 2017 Npower received 132,736 calls that generated 92,747 switches. Also, our ongoing written communications clearly state our cheapest available tariff." British Gas The British Gas Energy Trust helps clear energy debts for customers who are strug- gling and pays for new energy efficient appliances. British Gas has funded the trust This table from Comparethemarket shows a breakdown of the average UK house- hold's bills, which went up by almost £300 in 2017. Energy bills saw the most dramatic price increase – with the average now £1,625 – an increase of almost one-fifth (17 per cent) on the previous year's figure of £1,383. Fuel for thought A fuel poor household is defined as one that needs to spend more than 10 per cent of its income to heat the home to an adequate standard of warmth. In England, this is defined as 21°C in the living room and 18°C in other occupied rooms. The current definition of fuel poverty states that it is driven by three key factors: energy efficiency of the home, energy costs, and household income. Don't say they didn't warm you The Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme was introduced by the government in 2015 with the aim of tackling fuel poverty. It's a benefit payment that provides a £140 one-off discount on electric- ity bills for eligible customers between the months of October and March. Applications open in August of each year. Some smaller suppliers voluntarily participate in parts of the WHD, but all energy suppliers with over 250,000 domestic customers are required to participate in every ele- ment of the scheme. Household bill Total 2015 2016 £1,383.59 £691.85 £140.58 £135.46 £595.06 £1,289.36 Energy Car Home £2,216.02 £2,019.88 2017 £1,625.45 £735.36 £141.43 £2,502.24 since 2004 and has provided more than £100 million-worth of support to people in fuel poverty, regardless of which energy supplier they are with. The company has worked with National Energy Action (NEA), the leading charity for fighting fuel poverty, for more than 30 years. This year it will be collaborating with NEA on the joint Energy Impact Awards, which celebrate best practice in battling fuel pov- erty, along with a number of other projects. British Gas says it trains all its agents to recognise vulnerability, "through active lis- tening and questioning. When a customer on a low income is identified they are trans- ferred to our specialist priority services team. This is a 300-strong group of staff in Leeds who will talk to the customer about the right tariff for them."