Centrica: British Gas support for vulnerable customers – winter 2021/22

We are pleased to be a signatory of Energy UK’s Winter Commitment to consumers, along with others in the energy industry. Providing support for our most vulnerable customers and our communities has always been at the heart of what we do at British Gas.

Each year we contribute more than any other supplier on helping customers in need of support and our colleagues play a vital part in this. During the COVID-19 pandemic millions of customers reached out to us and we understand that many will be worried about paying their bills this coming winter. As highlighted in the Energy UK Winter Commitments, it’s important that our customers know that we offer additional support in a variety of ways and signpost where they can find this help.

To give an idea of the type of support available, here’s what we did in 2020:

After COVID-19 hit the UK, to keep prepayment customers on-supply, British Gas issued preloaded top-up cards with emergency credit worth a total of £6.9million. We also exchanged over 100,000 prepayment meters to smart meters to make things easier in lock down

British Gas contributed £87 million last year to assisting customers on low incomes through the government Warm Home Discount scheme, including £9.6 million via key industry and charity partners.

British Gas helped over 300,000 customers manage their debt, giving them more time to pay through payment plans and encouraging early meter readings.

British Gas Energy Trust provided grants worth £1.4 million to individuals with energy debts, including non-British Gas customers.

There are nearly 3 million customers on British Gas’ Priority Services Register, which receives around 5,000 calls to the dedicated phone line each week.

British Gas donated £1 million to Carers UK to support carers during the Coronavirus crisis.

During the first lockdown, 1,700 British Gas employee volunteers delivered 4 million meals as part of its work with Trussell Trust food banks.

British Gas supported energy efficiency improvements for over 37,000 UK households
We know that the first hurdle to getting help is knowing where to find it. We have multiple ways for customers to contact us, including those with accessible language formats. That includes a dedicated freephone helpline for those in financial hardship. In addition, we partner with a range of charities, so that we can point customers to where they can get independent advice.