CashNews.co
Energy supplier EDF is offering £29million worth of support to its most vulnerable customers this winter, as it extends its help fund for the third year running.
The provider will help customers struggling with debt, working alongside partners so that it can help the “most vulnerable”, both financially and by helping keep them warm and insulate their homes.
For a third year in a row, support will include a return of EDF’s debt-matching scheme, which cleared £1.1million of debt in 2023 to help those struggling. Of the customers supported with debt matching up to September 2023, the provider said 75 percent remained debt-free after 12 months.
This funding comes in addition to the £150 Warm Home Discount payments, which over 380,000 EDF customers are eligible for.
Philippe Commaret, managing director of customers at EDF, commented: “Whilst the Ofgem price cap has reduced in three of the last four quarters, an October rise of 10 percent will have a significant impact on those who are already struggling.
“We are doing all we can to reduce bills, however, to make a real long-term difference, we believe a social tariff is still needed. Only through meaningful Government and industry-wide intervention, paired with better data matching, such as a single cross-sector Priority Services Register, will affordability improve for those most in need.”
EDF will work with several partners to help reduce debt this winter, including Citizens Advice Plymouth, Income Max and Charis Grants, which provide a range of support to customers facing financial difficulty.
Last winter, EDF partnerships helped 65,000 customers with support including debt advice, income maximisation, energy efficiency advice, debt clearance and financial assistance payments, while its Warm Winter shop helped 1,000 customers with electric goods such as kettles, air fryers and slow cookers.
EDF is also introducing a new initiative this winter, which will see ‘Energy Doctors’ target fuel-poor areas with thermal cameras to identify and offer extra support to houses with EPC ratings of D or below.
The ‘Energy Doctors’ will visit some of EDF’s most vulnerable customers in fuel-poverty risk areas in north London to offer holistic support and identify opportunities to increase the energy efficiency of homes.
This includes completing EPCs free of charge, helping customers become eligible for other financial support such as Warm Home Discount and the ECO/GBIS insulation schemes and working with partners, such as IncomeMax, to identify further opportunities to help.
Following a successful trial last winter, EDF will also work with vulnerable customer management specialists Sonex, who will work with the supplier to help identify and establish relationships with hard-to-reach customers who have become disengaged, helping to provide the customer with tailored solutions appropriate for their circumstances.
Last year, the supplier effectively rolled back standing charges for over 270,000 customers who received Warm Home Discount to their pre-crisis levels.
The energy supplier is also delivering competitive offers for its customers, launching a fixed-term tracker tariff, EDF Ensure, earlier this year.
The tariff stays at £50 below the price cap, discounting the standing charge rather than the unit rate so all that sign up see the same financial benefit. It has also recently launched a new Sunday Saver challenge, which gives customers up to 16 hours of free electricity on Sundays in exchange for lowering their energy use at peak times during the week.