Home energy help for residents

Citizen’s Advice Cheshire West energy team winter cost of living assistance

The Energy Team at Citizens Advice Cheshire West provides a free, confidential and impartial service which is available to help all residents reduce energy consumption and manage costs. Our services are available to anyone who is struggling and vulnerable.

Our Energy Team are here to support both residents in threat of, or in fuel poverty, along with supporting community groups with dedicated talks and to deliver bespoke front line worker training to organisations delivering services directly to residents.

Practical help includes understanding energy bills and energy meters; setting heating controllers; advice on what simple measures to take with mould & moisture issues. Advising on ‘easy measures’ such as LED bulbs, draught-proofing, and radiator reflector panels and larger scale solutions such as wall and loft insulation.

Help, advice and information is also available about grants and schemes, referral pathways for council grants (subject to eligibility), how to make and support applications to trust fund’s, switching energy suppliers, comparing tariffs and changing payment methods, help to sign up to the priority service register and help to access financial support for energy provision for those in crisis.

Self-referral energy appointments can be requested on Citizens Advice website. Telephone, face to face and home visit appointments are available for those seeking help and assistance with energy issues.

More information can be found on the Citizens Advice website. Alternatively, you can contact the team directly.

Green Doctor Scheme

Green Doctors offer free, impartial advice to help people take control of their bills, save energy in the home and access other services and initiatives available.

Their support includes the installation of small energy saving measures such as draughtproofing and radiator foils, help with boiler and heating controls, smart meters, water meters, fuel and water debt, registration on suppliers PSR, grants, behavioural change advice, referrals for free gas safety checks and financial assistance where available.

The scheme is open to residents across Cheshire West and Chester with a focus on families and individuals who:

• have a low household income
• living with debt
• aged over 65
• living with a health condition affected by the cold
• living with mental illness
• living with dementia
• have a disability
• young people and families containing children under the age of five
• pregnant women
• people in emergency accommodation
• living in poor housing conditions

The scheme is open to eligible residents across Cheshire. More information about this service can be found on the Ground Work website. Alternatively, you can contact the team by email or phone:

• Email: greendoctor.CLM@groundwork.org.uk
• Phone: 0330 1740 863

Energy Projects Plus

Energy Projects Plus (EPP) provides impartial advice and support to help residents reduce energy use, lower fuel bills, and cut carbon emissions, all while staying warm and well during winter. Residents can access support through the Save Energy Advice Line and a variety of projects, such as Retrofit Buddies, Warm & Well, Warmth4Health, and LEAP home visits.

Through these projects, residents can receive help with setting heating controls, support for installing energy efficiency improvements like insulation and heating upgrades, assistance with fuel debt, advice on managing damp and mould, and home visits that may include small installations such as LED bulbs, draught-proofing, and radiator reflector panels. During home visits, assessors can also refer residents to the LEAP Appliances program for white goods replacement or the LEAP Boiler program for repair or replacement of faulty boilers in no-heat situations.

EPP schemes are available to eligible residents across Cheshire and Merseyside. More information about the schemes available can be found on the EPP website. Alternatively, you can contact them by phone or email:

• Phone: 0800 043 0151
• Email: advice@epplus.org

Lines are open 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday (apart from Bank Holidays and the days between Christmas and New Year).

Training for Frontline Workers

More information on upcoming training sessions for frontline workers, including dates and times can be found on the EPP's Eventbrite page. Alternatively, if you’d like to arrange an “in-house” session for your team, either online or in person, you can email the team at training@epplus.org.

The North West Net Zero Hub

This group supports organisations across the North West to identify, develop and implement energy projects. You can learn more about the programmes they offer, types of projects they support or to sign up to their newsletter by visiting their website.