If you’re struggling to pay your gas and electricity bill, you may be eligible for help through a hardship fund run by your energy supplier.
The support you could be offered include grants that don’t need to be paid back, or even your energy debt wiped completely.
There are several energy suppliers that are currently offering hardship schemes.
For most of them, you need to be an existing customer - the big exception is the British Gas scheme, which can be accessed by anyone.
The help could be vital for some families, after the boss of Ofgem warned energy bills are expected to be hiked by another £800 later this year.
The price cap for those on default tariffs paying by direct debit increased by £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 last month.
Jonathan Brearley, the chief executive of Ofgem, said this could reach "in the region of £2.800" by October.
Energy hardship funds explained
Help is available from the following energy providers, if you’re an existing customer:
Are you worried about affording your energy bills? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
There is also the British Gas Energy Trust which can be accessed by anyone, not just British Gas customers, providing you meet the eligibility criteria.
Who exactly qualifies for help does vary between each energy supplier - but generally speaking, you'll need to be struggling to pay your bills, on a low income or claiming certain benefits.
You will likely be asked to show examples of your household income and to explain why you're unable to pay your bills.
Separate to the hardship funds run by energy companies, you may also want to use the free grants search tool from debt charity Turn2Us.
There are around 8,000 grants currently available.
The help varies depending on where you live and again, the eligibility criteria will be different grant-to-grant.
If you're not sure which grants you might be eligible for, there are also specialist energy debt help charities that will be able to help you:
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is today expected to announce a £30billion cost of living package, tailored at helping families who are worried about their energy bills.
We don't know what will be announced yet, but it is thought it could include scrapping the £200 "loan-not-a-loan" in favour of a £400 grant that doesn't need to be paid back.
Other measures the Chancellor is thought to have poured over include increasing the Warm Home Discount scheme and Winter Fuel Payments.
