ONE MONTH TO GO UNTIL THE COLDEST DAY OF THE YEAR

13th December 2006

- Home Heat Helpline urges those most at risk to use next four weeks to protect themselves ahead of the winter freeze –

- Excellent response from Britain’s vulnerable with over 5,000 people calling the Helpline since the countdown campaign began

- But many more vulnerable households need to call to ensure they are warm this winter -

With just one month to go until the coldest day of the year – 13th January - the Home Heat Helpline (0800 33 66 99) is urging people who have difficulty heating their home to use the next four weeks to take advantage of the Helpline and the free advice and grants available. Britain’s most vulnerable households include older people, lone parents and disabled people and the Home Heat Helpline wants to help them get ready ahead of possible freezing temperatures this winter.

The Helpline, funded by Britain’s energy retailers, has had a terrific response since the countdown campaign began several weeks ago. In that time more than 5,000 vulnerable households have called the Helpline for advice on keeping warm ahead of the coldest day of the year - traditionally 13 January (St Hilary’s Day). But there remain many vulnerable households who need to call the Helpline to receive advice from specially trained advisors and, if eligible, gain access to funds and grants to help heat and insulate their home.

With one month to go those most at risk still have time to call the helpline. Those calling the freephone number will be able to speak to expert advisors, including former health professionals who are trained to give advice on how to stay warm during the cold weather. It doesn’t matter which company supplies the caller’s energy as the Helpline is funded by all Britain’s energy retailers. It can also take calls from intermediaries calling on behalf of vulnerable people, such as friends, family, carers, social workers or health visitors.

In its first 12 months 38,000 people called the helpline. In the last year more than one in four (27 per cent) of those who have called the Helpline saved money on their utility bills and 5,000 people have accessed benefits they were previously unaware of.

Duncan Sedgwick, Chief Executive of the Energy Retail Association said,

“We have had a terrific response since we launched the countdown campaign but we know there are still many households that have not contacted the Helpline who could receive valuable advice about how to make their home more energy efficient and access benefits they were previously unaware of.

“With just one month to go until the coldest day of the year it is crucial that anyone who is worried about their energy bills or heating their home this winter should call 0800 33 66 99. It’s not too late to call to ensure they are not left cold this winter.”

To help those worried about heating their homes this winter the Helpline has launched a range of guides for consumers, charities and advice groups. These include digital guides that can be downloaded from the Home Heat Helpline website (www.homeheathelpline.org) which contain information and advice on insulating homes properly; making sure homes are as energy efficient as possible and providing information on how people can register for extra services to ensure they are warm this winter.

Ends

Notes to Editors:

Four Communications
0870 420 3245
HHH@fourcommunications.com

Home Heat Helpline
Suzi Darsa – 020 7747 5436
Suzi.darsa@energy-retail.org.uk

1. The Home Heat Helpline operates from Monday to Friday 9am-8pm and from 10am-2pm on Saturday. There is a free minicom number (0800 027 2122) and the Helpline also has access to interpreters for those callers whose first language is not English.

2. The Helpline is operated by the essentiagroup and is staffed by expert advisers, including former health professionals, who are trained to give advice on how to stay warm during the cold weather. They are also trained and authorised to deal with intermediaries calling on behalf of vulnerable customers, such as friends, carers, social workers or health visitors

3. The Home Heat Helpline was launched by the Energy Retail Association which was established in October 2003 and is the dedicated trade association for domestic energy suppliers in the UK.

4. The Home Heat Helpline is a free service for all British citizens and is funded by Britain’s six major energy suppliers. It is the only such helpline service that aims to tackle fuel poverty. The energy suppliers spent £300 million between 2002 – 2005 on tackling fuel poverty and have committed to spend a further £700 million over the next 3 years on this important issue.

For further information please contact:

Niki Bowles, Head of Communications and Media Relations on 0207 930 9181 or 07730 898 641
Russell Hamblin-Boone, Head of Corporate Affairs on 0207 930 9177 or 07810 374 110