Off grid households in Northumberland offered £400 grants to support them through rising energy costs

The local authority is offering a grant of £400 per household to support energy bills for people living off grid who aren’t eligible for gas and electricity support from the government.

Thanks to lobbying from the rural charity Community Action Northumberland (CAN), the grant is now being paid out to households who are not connected to the electricity grid and use alternative methods of energy such as oil and coal.

The £400 energy bills support scheme discount was announced by the government earlier this year.

The payment was automatically credited to electricity bills, but as people living off grid don't have such bills, they went without support.

The government announced in its autumn budget it would make arrangements for £400 to be paid for off grid properties, park homes and houses of multiple occupancy, but this hasn't happened yet.

Christine Nicholls, CAN’s lead for energy equality, said: “It’s estimated there are over 350 households living in rural Northumberland who are not connected to the electricity grid.

"Most of these households rely on diesel generators to meet their basic electricity needs. Most use diesel generators and can pay around £8,000-£10,000 per year on diesel (depending on the fluctuating price of oil) for 4 hours of electricity per day.”

CAN works with rural communities on a range of energy projects such as the Warm Hubs programme, which has been supporting communities throughout the cot of living crisis, and recognised the lack of support for off grid households as soon as the energy bills discount was announced.

One anonymous woman explained the difference the grant has made: “The household coal that is my only form of heating at the sitting end of my cottage has gone up from £16 a bag to £34 a bag. The £400 grant has paid for the 12 bags of coal which should last me to end of January. Also I needed a new part for the diesel generator and the bill for that was £179.”