Home energy help for residents

Park homes - Warm Discount Scheme (2024/25)

Applications are now being accepted for the Warm Home Discount scheme for eligible park home residents. The scheme, which is administered by Charis, offers £150 towards energy costs for eligible park home residents.

To be eligible you must meet the following criteria:

• be a permanent park home resident
• pay your electricity bill directly to your park owner
• be in receipt of a means-tested benefit or have an annual household income of £19,978 or less (before tax and deductions)

There is limited funding available and it is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information see Charisgrants.com.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme opened in April 2023 and will run until 2025. There is £4.5m available in grant funding for the installation of heat pumps and biomass boilers for both domestic and non-domestic properties, as part of the Government’s efforts to decarbonise heat in buildings.

The scheme is administered by Ofgem on behalf of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The grant provides upfront capital:

• £5,000 off the cost of installing a biomass boiler
• £7,500 off the cost of installing either an air-source or ground-source heat pump

More information for property owners can be found on the Ofgem website.

Priority Services Register

The Priority Services Register is an industry-wide free support service that offers additional help to people in vulnerable situations. Energy suppliers and Network Operators both keep registers.

There are many benefits to registering, such as getting priority support with heating and cooking facilities if your supply is cut off, get advanced notice of power cuts and an identification and password scheme if you need to be contacted or are expecting a home visit.

You are eligible to join the priority services register if you:

• are of pensionable age
• have young children under 5
• are living with a long-term health condition
• rely on electrical medical equipment
• have reduced mobility
• are visually impaired
• have extra communication needs (such as if you don’t speak or read English well)
• have poor or no sense of smell
• would struggle to answer the door or get help in an emergency.

Contact your energy supplier to find out more and to register. If your gas and electricity is provided by different energy companies, you will need to contact both.

Your energy supplier can notify your Network Operators on your behalf. In Cheshire West, the Network Operators are SP Energy Networks (electricity) and Cadent (gas).

A similar service is offered by water companies in Cheshire West; United Utilities and Dee Valley Water. For more information on what support is available, visit your water company website:

Government Retrofit Advice Service

If you're a property owner, you can use this service to see what recommendations may be suitable for your property to help make it cheaper to heat and keep warm. For each recommendation you will be provided with an estimate of how much the improvement will cost, how much you could save on bills and what the next steps would be if you decide to make the improvement.

More information about this service can be found on the GOV.UK website.