British Gas Energy Trust

British Gas Energy Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1179578).

British Gas Energy Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1179578). Its mission is to alleviate the detrimental impact of poverty, with a focus on fuel poverty. It helps families and individuals in or at risk of financial hardship manage energy needs, costs and debt, through debt-relief grants to households, small grants through trusted partners, and funding for advice-giving organisations. Its annual giving is £6,802,936, and an outreach programme also takes expert advice into communities.

Priority Areas

The Trust focuses on poverty, particularly fuel poverty, and helps families and individuals in or at risk of financial hardship manage energy needs, costs and debt. It provides debt-relief grants to households, and small grants through trusted partners for emergency energy vouchers and essential white goods. It also funds advice-giving organisations across England, Wales and Scotland to deliver free support, including money and energy advice, debt help, budgeting and benefits guidance. Alongside these funded projects, an outreach programme takes expert advice into communities. Its approach combines direct household assistance with community-based advice and related support, with the stated aim of helping people make informed energy choices and improve money management.

Themes

• Fuel poverty
• Energy debt relief
• Money and energy advice
• Emergency energy vouchers

Geographic Focus

England; Wales; Scotland.

No application process is published in the charity's annual report, its register entry or its website. The contact shown is for getting in touch.

Who can apply:

• Energy Support Grant
  • Open to prepayment meter and credit account British Gas customers and customers of other suppliers.
  • You have not received a grant from the British Gas Energy Trust within the last 2 years.
  • You live in England, Wales or Scotland.
  • You have received money advice or guidance within the last 6 months.
  • You are seeking a grant to clear outstanding debt on a current energy account in your name and place of residence.
  • If you are a customer of OVO, Boost, E.ON Next, EDF, ScottishPower, Octopus, Shell Energy, SSE, Utility Warehouse or Sainsbury’s Energy, you must apply to your supplier’s support fund first. You can only apply to us if you have recently been declined by your supplier’s support fund. Evidence of the decline will be required.
  • Prepayment meter customers must owe between £50 – £1,700 in energy debt.
  • Credit account customers must owe between £100 – £1,700 in energy debt.

What to send:

• You will need to provide evidence that you have received money/debt advice
• The application form asks you to provide details of the organisation from which you received money advice
• You must provide your relevant gas/electricity account numbers
• Gas and electricity meter readings are also needed, which must be taken on the day that you submit your application
• ALL income received by the household
• ALL household expenditure
• ALL household debts, including gas/electricity debts
• You will need to provide the full money advice document, as screenshots or partial pages cannot be accepted.

Applying again: If you are successful and receive an award You cannot reapply to the Trust for two years. If you are unsuccessful and do not receive an award You can reapply at any time following a change in your circumstances, e.g. if you lose your job or your household income changes.