British Gas, Octopus, EDF share how to claim up to £2,000 energy grants and free heated throws

Many households are dreading the winter weather but help is available – here’s what British Gas, EDF, OVO, Octopus, E.ON and ScottishPower are offering

The rising cost of living has left many households struggling to deal with day to day living expenses. With everything from food and fuel to energy bills rising, people are often finding it hard to make ends meet.

Even with announcements in this week’s Autumn Budget, including the scrapping of standing charges, many are concerned about the amount they will need to pay to stay warm as temperatures fall. Energy UK, the trade association for the energy industry, has warned: “The energy crisis pushed prices up for customers and increased the pressure on energy retail suppliers. This has led to a growing customer energy debt problem that needs to be addressed.

“At the same time, successive governments have chosen energy bills as a way to fund energy infrastructure or pay for social policy. These levies, combined with unstable wholesale prices, are continuing to keep energy bills high for households and businesses. We need a sustainable retail market that can provide an essential service at the lowest cost.”

It added: “Despite rising costs and increased pressure, energy suppliers continue to increase the support they provide to customers, including additional funding for customers in fuel poverty. All major retail suppliers have their own funds, independently managed by fund administrators or in partnership with consumer bodies like Citizens Advice.

“Over the crisis, hundreds of millions of pounds have been voluntarily made available for additional support for customers struggling to pay on top of the more than £2bn in mandatory schemes they deliver every year. These mandatory schemes are to help people struggling with energy bills. This includes the funding for the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), which is coming to an end in 2026, and the Warm Home Discount (WHD).”

It added that suppliers have put into place a range of support for customers. These include debt write-off schemes and hardship funds, funding to charity partners and frontline organisations, reducing or waiving the standing charges over winter for certain customers and access to energy saving devices and technology – with some offering free heated throws.

To help people find out what is on offer, the organisation has pulled together highlights of assistance packages offered by some of the country’s biggest suppliers. Here is what is available from six of the biggest firms.

British Gas

• British Gas’ £140 million voluntary support package continues to provide extra support to customers facing financial hardship – including free energy grants (of up to £2,000) through the British Gas Energy Trust’s tailored support for households and small business customers, and funding for advice centres and charities.
• British Gas has also committed £40 million to the British Gas Energy Trust over the next five years to support people struggling with their energy bills, as part of its contribution to the Warm Home Discount scheme. This funding will help thousands of households with energy costs and wider cost-of-living pressures, while expanding support such as debt relief, energy efficiency advice and funding for charitable partners.
• The energy supplier has a 22-year history of supporting all energy consumers (not just British Gas customers) through the British Gas Energy Trust (BGET), an independent charity funded solely by British Gas. The Trust provides support across the UK, including energy debt relief grants, emergency energy grants, a network of over 32 advice services, and outreach programmes offering expert energy and financial guidance directly into the heart of communities. Since its launch, the British Gas Energy Trust has provided consistent, financial help for vulnerable households and remains one of the largest, grant giving energy trusts in the UK. Since 2004 over £270 million has been invested to help more than 830,000 people manage their household budgets and energy costs.
• In February 2026, British Gas’ parent company Centrica announced a new £2.4 million, three-year partnership with The Multibank to help households in or facing poverty across the UK. For the first time at this scale, Centrica, while supporting The Multibank, will help them provide further essential household goods to those who need it, and via the British Gas Energy Trust, connect people with direct, targeted energy support to help people stay warm, safe and secure.
• British Gas’ advisors are trained to identify customers in financial difficulty and can offer payment plans to allow customers to spread their repayments over a longer period, as well directing them to the further help and support available.

For further details on British Gas energy help visit its website

EDF Energy

• EDF has announced a £30 million Winter Support Package to help vulnerable customers manage rising energy debt. This includes direct financial assistance, debt relief, additional credits, prepayment vouchers, tailored one to one support, and expanded partnerships with charities and advice agencies.
• EDF works with a range of partners to provide extra support for its diverse customer base. This includes Plymouth Citizens Advice for in depth financial guidance, IncomeMax which helps referred customers access an average additional income of £2,700 per annum, Charis Grants which administers funds and support, and, new for this year, TellJO, which proactively identifies and supports customers at risk of financial vulnerability.
• EDF is expanding its expert frontline teams so more customers with complex needs receive tailored, hands-on help. From September, EDF will also relaunch its Sunday Saver initiative, offering free electricity on Sundays to customers who reduce their usage during the week. EDF continues to offer fixed products that help customers save money compared with the price cap.
• Since 2003, EDF has supported more than 65,000 customers through its Customer Support Fund, which provides energy debt relief as well as replacing old or broken white goods such as washing machines, cookers and fridge freezers.
• Last year, EDF launched its Warmer Winter Shop, offering free, practical support to help customers stay warm and reduce energy costs. These bundles included heated throws, rechargeable hot water bottles, mittens and body warmers, flasks, and emergency cooking appliances such as air fryers and slow cookers

For further details on EDF energy help visit its website

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E.ON Next

• The E.ON Next Energy Fund supports eligible customers by clearing debt from their energy account and provides energy-efficient white goods such as washing machines, fridges, freezers and cookers when urgently needed.
• A provision of £10 million has been allocated to the E.ON Next Energy Fund to help support its customers during the cost-of-living crisis.
• E.ON Next’s energy specialists are specially trained to sensitively help customers in difficult circumstances, including those with complex health and social needs, changes in life circumstances, or problems paying outstanding bills.
• In collaboration with Paylink solutions, the company has implemented a digital tool enabling customers to build their household budget which they can submit to E.ON Next for review, ensuring customers who are struggling can be given more time to pay and an affordable repayment plan agreed to rid them of debt over time. This includes providing additional support credit to prepayment customers.
• Currently over 40% of E.ON Next customers are on its Priority Services Register, which ensures they can access the additional support that suits their needs.
• E.ON Next has long-standing and positive relationships with all the main debt advice charities, and collaborates with them in the design and delivery of customer-support solutions.
• E.ON Next is also collaborating with other charities such as Kidney Care UK, Age UK and MacMillan Cancer Support to provide bespoke training to its specialists, and to enable direct referral of its customers into those organisations where they can benefit from a range of services and support.
• All E.ON Next customers are eligible to exclusive offers on energy solutions such as energy-efficient boilers, solar panels and heat pumps. It also refers customers to its Obligation team to access paid-for energy efficiency measures that support their situations.
• Homes for Living is a scheme designed to support mobility, wellbeing and independence, offering free home aids and equipment designed to give more freedom in the home.
• E.ON Next provides 24/7 digital support to its customers via social media channels.
• E.ON Next has a specialised area to support its most vulnerable customers and has a higher proportion of advisors to support its customers. It has invested in bespoke training to support its people when dealing with customers in vulnerable situations.
• E.ON Next has allocated part of its Energy Fund to providing discretionary items for vulnerable customers including heated throws.
• E.ON Next has partnered up with Lightning Reach to provide access to personalised grants and up to 2,500 different schemes to customers facing financial hardship.

For further details on E.ON energy help visit its website

Octopus

• Octopus’s financial hardship fund, Octo Assist, is dedicated to helping customers who are unable to afford the cost of living and now stands at £40m. The fund is tailored to meet individual needs. Customers can apply for assistance all-year-round by contacting Octopus or filling out a simple Paylink form.
• Octo Assist has helped over 110,000 customers so far by offering support such as standing charge holidays, debt write-offs, and a “you pay, we pay” scheme, where for every additional payment a customer in debt makes, Octopus contributes the same amount to reduce the customer’s debt further over a period of time.
• Octopus expanded its Octo Assist scheme in response to the tightening of eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments (WFP), to specifically offer pensioners who have ‘slipped through the net’ a one-off credit of up to £200. Octopus also trained up its support teams to help people apply for external benefits they may be entitled to, such as Pension Credit.
• The energy supplier continues to offer free electric blankets for its most vulnerable customers, resulting in an average 20% saving on gas bills per household, with over 100,000 distributed so far.
• Octopus loans thermal imaging cameras to help customers identify and fix draughts, reducing energy usage. So far it has loaned cameras to 12,000 customers.
• The energy supplier provides tailored in-person energy-saving advice through the ‘Energy Helpers’ scheme, with over 300,000 homes visited so far.
• Octopus was the first energy supplier to have an in-house social worker team, providing one-to-one support that goes far beyond energy bills. The team helped more than 360 households on average each month in 2025.
• It offers domestic flexibility schemes to help customers save money by changing the way they consume energy. Octopus’ Saving Sessions help customers save money by using less energy during peak periods, with over two million participants and £10.5 million in savings paid out over previous winters. Customers signed up to its ‘Octoplus’ rewards scheme can also get free additional electricity above their normal usage levels whenever the wholesale electricity price drops significantly or goes negative during Octopus’ Free Electricity Sessions.
• Octopus has consistently priced its Standard Variable Tariff (SVT) below the price cap, absorbing £166 million since October 2022
• The energy supplier enables customers to round up their energy bills to support others, through donations to National Energy Action and Citizens Advice, raising more than £300,000 in the last 12 months.
• Octopus, in partnership with the National Support Network, now has an external site available for use by customers that acts as a one-stop shop for those seeking local support across a range of issues. The site (octopusenergy.nsn.org.uk) enables internal agents or the customer to locate services in their local area to obtain support across a broad range of topics and life events.
• Octopus launched a brand-new industry initiative in 2023 as part of the Warm Home Discount Scheme, and has since provided over 1,200 fuel-poor or at-risk households with free solar PV installation and batteries.
• It partnered with ‘Signvideo’ so customers can speak to agents through a British Sign Language interpreter using live video-call technology. It can offer three-way call backs as well as face-to-face interpreting services.
• Octopus offers customers 24/7 emergency support. It has extended phone support from 5pm-8pm weekdays and has extended email support to 8am-10pm, seven days a week.

For further details on Octopus energy help visit its website

OVO

For further details on OVO energy help visit its website

ScottishPower

• ScottishPower’s Hardship Fund provides support to customers who are struggling with bills and has provided £89.7m of help to their customers to date. In 2025 ScottishPower introduced a new process that undertakes applications on the behalf of most vulnerable customers, ensuring those most vulnerable have the additional support they need.
• It works with partner organisations, such as foodbanks, to provide meter credit to prepayment customers in financial difficulty via vouchers that do not need to be repaid. During 2025, ScottishPower provided customers with more than £121,000 worth of credit through this initiative.
• ScottishPower has processes that make it straightforward and fast for customers to request and receive additional support credit in order to best support prepayment customers in difficult circumstances. There is a ‘self-serve’ function in the ScottishPower app, which allows customers to request and receive additional support credit without speaking to an agent.
• ScottishPower proactively engages with customers at risk of hardship, including prepayment customers with a low meter balance, by offering a simple route to access further financial support.

For further details on ScottishPower energy help visit its website