Our 12 Impacts / Customers with Special Circumstances / Performance 2007
Contributed a further £1 million to the ScottishPower Energy People Trust. During 2007, the Trust awarded funding of more than £1.45 million to 31 projects, helping 132,172 individuals in 42,633 households.
More than 550 calls were referred to ScottishPower from the Home Heat Helpline, an industry initiative to provide a free, UK-wide telephone service offering practical energy advice for people concerned about paying their energy bills.
ScottishPower’s Community Liaison Officers made 7,220 home visits. In addition, the Carefree Team carried out more than 13,500 gas safety checks for domestic gas customers. This is one of the services that Carefree Register customers can benefit from.
We made significant investment in customer energy efficiency programmes to help achieve our energy saving target under the three-year Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC2). Using energy more efficiently can dramatically reduce the cost of light and power in any home, helping to alleviate fuel poverty. For more information see Climate Change and Emissions to Air.
ScottishPower sponsored the National Energy Action Conference, which was held in the University of Chester in September 2007. The overall theme of the conference was ‘Countdown to 2010’ with workshops on NEA’s European research into Fuel Poverty and microgeneration.
| Performance Targets 2007 | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Contribute a further £1 million to the ScottishPower Energy People Trust | Target met – we announced the donation of a further £1 million to the Trust at an event held at the Scottish Parliament in June. |
- Develop and deliver a social tariff aimed at our most vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register, Carefree, in early 2008
- Continue to support the ScottishPower Energy People Trust funding projects that help alleviate fuel poverty through crisis funding, income maximisation, energy efficiency measures and research
- Maximise the benefits to vulnerable people through our energy efficiency partnerships with local authorities, housing associations and our Warm Zone and Community Energy Partnerships. In the next three years we will invest over £200 million on improving the energy efficiency of homes across Britain under the Government’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT)
ScottishPower Energy People Trust
The ScottishPower Energy People Trust is an independent charity set up by ScottishPower to help end fuel poverty throughout Britain. The Trust awards grant funding to not-for-profit organisations and groups that represent some of the most vulnerable people in our society, with particular emphasis on projects that involve children or young people.
The widely accepted definition of fuel poverty is when a household spends 10% or more of its income on energy to maintain enough warmth for health and comfort. The number of households estimated to suffer from fuel poverty is approximately 543,000 in Scotland1, 1.5 million in England and 243,000 in Wales2.
Fuel Poverty occurs as a result of three variables
- The condition and thermal efficiency of the dwelling
- The disposable income of the householder
- The cost of fuel
The Government has set a target to eliminate fuel poverty in vulnerable households by 2010 and to end it completely in England and Scotland by 2016 and by 2018 in Wales. Fuel poverty usually occurs in low income households, and homes that are hard to heat and keep warm, due to the poor condition of the building and a lack of insulation.
Many of these homes are in the social housing or private rented sector. The cost of energy also plays a part. Decreases in the wholesale costs of gas and coal early in 2007 resulted in ScottishPower reducing prices to customers in June. However, wholesale prices began to rise again towards the end of the year, affecting retail prices going into 2008.
The ScottishPower Energy People Trust, established following a major research programme, is now in its third year. The Trust awards grants to not-for-profit organisations that are well placed to ensure the funding is targeted at those most in need. Visit the ScottishPower Energy People Trust website, telephone 0141 568 3388, or email: enquiries@energypeopletrust.co.uk
1 Source: The Scottish House Condition Survey 2005/06
2 Source: The UK Fuel Poverty Strategy 5th Annual Report 2007
Funding
During 2007 the ScottishPower Energy People Trust awarded grant funding of almost £1.45 million to 31 projects, helping 132,172 individuals in 42,633 households. Since its formation in November 2005 the ScottishPower Energy People Trust has awarded total funding of over £3.2 million to 82 projects, helping more than 206,000 individuals in 85,000 homes.
Projects funded in 2007 included:
Deaf Advice Service
The Deaf Advice Centre in Sheffield received funding of almost £34,000. The money will be used to provide a dedicated part time Advice Worker to raise awareness of fuel issues and provide a comprehensive income maximisation service in British Sign Language.
The project will run for two years and provide much-needed support to a client group who are usually excluded from this kind of advisory service due to communication barriers.
Project Bright Spark
Project Bright Spark, run by Falkirk Council, received a grant of £10,000. The money will be used to help 18-21 year old adults who have just left care, lone parents and young families in the Falkirk area with a service that addresses each aspect of fuel poverty. Money from the Trust is used specifically for crisis funding. Other organisations provide energy efficiency advice and income maximisation checks.
Many of the projects funded by the ScottishPower Energy People Trust, including Project Bright Spark, focus on ensuring income maximisation for families and vulnerable individuals. This can be combined with maximising home energy efficiency by providing advice and installing energy saving measures, such as insulation and low energy light bulbs.
See our case studies for more information, or view a summary of projects funded on the ScottishPower Energy People Trust website.
How to Apply for Funding
Organisations and groups can apply for funding to support projects or schemes covering:
- Crisis funding, for example, women and children needing emergency accommodation and vulnerable young people setting up their first home
- Benefits health checks or income maximisation - for example, helping households that are not claiming all the benefits to which they're entitled; or people who are not eligible for current Government grants or funding because they don't receive the appropriate benefit
- Energy efficiency measures - for example, a scheme that aims to improve the energy efficiency of homes by draught proofing, insulating and energy efficiency advice
- Research – for example, a research project that aims to understand the link between fuel poverty and health
- A combination of the above
Home Heat Helpline
ScottishPower has for a second year supported the Home Heat Helpline, an independent telephone service funded by the UK's six largest energy companies. It was designed to give help and advice to people who are struggling to pay their energy bills or to keep warm in winter.
Independent advisors can provide information and advice on keeping warm and using energy efficiently, as well as payment plan options and how those with special needs can become a Priority Service Customer.
This year the helpline received more than 19,500 calls – 552 of these were referred to ScottishPower.
The free phone number is 0800 33 66 99. For further information visit the Home Heat Helpline website.
Carefree Scheme
Customers who have special needs or senior citizens can sign up to join our Carefree Scheme, which offers these vulnerable customers added peace of mind. A key feature of Carefree is the Password Scheme, where Carefree members can choose and use a special password to check that a caller to their home is a ScottishPower employee or agent. The password is given only to staff who need (and are authorised) to visit customers at home.
During the year we explored ways in which we could help Carefree customers to manage their fuel bills. We are planning to deliver a special tariff for qualifying Carefree Scheme customers in 2008.
The Carefree Team carried out 13,582 gas safety checks for domestic gas customers – one of the services that eligible customers on the Carefree Scheme can benefit from.
Community Liaison Officers
ScottishPower has a dedicated team of 13 Community Liaison Officers. These skilled and experienced employees have a key role in identifying and communicating with vulnerable customers.
Last year ScottishPower's Community Liaison Officers made 7,220 customer visits, including 1,372 relating to energy efficiency and 768 home visits to customers with special circumstances. They also attended 15 community events, resolved various customer complaints and provided advice and information on heating and the Carefree Scheme.
