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As autumn begins, making informed choices about your home energy usage is one of the best ways to save money on your bills. A warm home is so important, but sadly many people struggle to heat their homes, facing difficult choices between turning the heating on and buying food or paying other bills.
That is why, on October 20th, I am jointly hosting an energy advice drop-in surgery with Tonia Antoniazzi MP, at Forge Fach Community Resource Centre in Clydach. The event is free to attend and will run from 11am – 1pm. Please come along and find out about the range of assistance and support that is available to help you pay, and reduce, your bills – as well as taking the opportunity to arrange a free gas safety check which can detect issues such as boiler faults, gas and carbon monoxide leaks. We have teamed up with British Gas for this event, and their advisors will be on hand with lots of good advice. Tackling fuel poverty is one of the top priorities for the Welsh Government, and we are committed to doing all we can. This is not easy, as Wales has some of the oldest and least thermally-efficient homes in Europe. We are working to improve the energy efficiency of homes, as we know this is an important way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term by making homes easier to heat and keep warm, and reducing household energy bills. We are also investing to make sure that impartial advice and support is available to help people keep warm and save money. Since 2011, over £217 million has been invested in Warm Homes, and this funding has had a significant impact on vulnerable households across Wales. It has provided advice to over 85,000 households and improved the energy efficiency of over 39,000 homes. Over 1,190 households have claimed new or additional benefits following a benefit entitlement check, averaging over £1,900 per household. In addition to this, over 1,000 households have benefited from a referral for a Warm Homes Discount rebate on their electricity bill, equating to over £140,000. The benefits aren’t just limited to cost savings. Warm Homes is also designed to ensure economic benefits for Wales in terms of employment and business opportunities. All of the energy efficiency improvements installed under our schemes have been delivered by Wales-based small and medium size businesses. If you would like to find out whether you are eligible for help to keep warm this winter, please come along or get in touch with my office by calling 01792 899081 or e-mailing me via [email protected] Comments are closed.
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