Spreading Warmth

Our Spreading Warmth programme is designed to help those most in need – families on low incomes, the elderly, or people who are disabled or chronically ill. We help them manage their bills, keep warm and reduce their energy costs. The programme includes a range of products and services:

Spreading Warmth Tariff

The Spreading Warmth Tariff is our social tariff and is our cheapest enduring tariff regardless of payment method. We have designed this tariff to be compliant with Ofgem’s guidelines, therefore making it a true social tariff. The eligibility for the tariff is that a customer has a gross annual household income below £13,500 and someone in the household is: 60 or over, disabled, chronically ill, or a child under 16.

Warm Response Service

This service offers extra help, free of charge, to people who are chronically ill, over 60, or disabled. It includes services like large print, Braille or audio bills, quarterly meter readings, third-party billing and a password scheme.

First Step Scheme

Our First Step Scheme offers advice to our customers who are struggling to pay their bills. Our first step advisors work on an individual basis with customers to agree a package of measures to help them manage their account. We also have a First Step Fund to help people struggling with debt – in 2008 there were just over 6,000 customers receiving help from the fund. More information about the npower First Step Scheme please click here.

Energy efficiency advice

Our dedicated energy efficiency helpline gives customers free, impartial advice on how to save energy around the home. We also have a team of home advisors who make home visits and give community talks, offering people the same service face-to-face in their own homes.

Winter Discount

In March 2008 we spent £2 million on rebates to vulnerable, ‘fuel poor’ households. Through this scheme, 50,000 households each received a £40 rebate.

Last year

We launched our Spreading Warmth Tariff in July 2008, which offered a discount of £125 per fuel to customers in need. Our aim was to have 75,000 customer accounts on the tariff by the end of the year. We exceeded that, signing up approximately 84,000 accounts.

Over the course of the year, and across the whole of the Spreading Warmth Programme, we managed to help around 150,000 households.

Awards for 2008

Spreading Warmth was honoured with two major awards last year. We won a ‘Big Tick’ at the Business in the Community awards for market innovation, also making the shortlist for their Awards for Excellence. We also won a European Utility Award for Customer Excellence.

Next year

In 2009 we aim to reach even more vulnerable customers by increasing the promotion of our Spreading Warmth Programme. We will continue to work with government and advice agencies to raise awareness of the Spreading Warmth Programme and the support we have available to customers. Following the success of our internal awareness campaign in 2008 we will continue our programme of staff training to create further awareness of vulnerability.