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The Npower Fuel Bank initiative has helped 1,000 people who would otherwise have been disconnected pay for their energy for up to two weeks.
The scheme’s pilot in County Durham has helped 674 adults and 350 children in the local area over the last three months by issuing 448 vouchers for a £49 free fuel top up.
The vouchers are open to customers of any supplier, as long as they have a prepayment meter, are foodbank voucher holders and visit the County Durham food bank.
According to Citizens Advice one in every six homes that use a prepayment meter has self-disconnected, meaning up to 1.62 million people go without electricity or gas each year.
Npower’s director of corporate responsibility Guy Esnouf said: “Our fuel bank trial aims to provide immediate and hassle free support to those in need so they don’t have to make the difficult choice between food and warmth, and to then help identify other schemes that may be able to provide longer-term support. I’m delighted with the success of the trial.”
The Npower Fuel Bank is also being piloted in three other regions – Kingston upon Thames, the Wirral and Gloucester – and if successful, Npower hopes to extend the initiative nationwide. The ambition is to support up to 13,000 households in the first year.
The Trussel Trust’s trustee Alison Inglis-Jones said: “We are very pleased with the impact that the scheme has had on fuel poverty in Durham. These Npower Fuel Bank vouchers mean that as well as offering food to people in need, we can now give them the energy they need to cook it and heat their homes too.”
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