Help available with metered water bills

Water Companies are required to offer help to customers on low incomes who have 3 or more children, or if a member of the household needs to use more water because of a medical condition.Your company will advise you how to apply for the Watersure Scheme (a vulnerable household charge). You will need to provide evidence that you are receiving a means-tested benefit and details about your family.

If accepted on the scheme, your annual bills will be a maximum of the average bill for households in your area. Few customers are aware of the scheme so if you think this applies to you, ask the company for advice. Yorkshire Water's application form is available for you to download from our Downloads page, use it as a tool to assess how a easy the application may be. (Yorkshire Water' s scheme charges are set at £154 for water and £177 for sewerage charges for the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010).

Also,  OFWAT figures estimate that most households will save between 5% & 10% on the annual water charges by having a water meter installed, and the water companies are obliged to install meters free of charge upon request.

Upto £10k interest free loans to install renewables in Kirklees - repayable upon change of ownership

RE-Charge is an exciting new scheme funded by Kirklees Council to help home owners reduce their carbon footprint. RE-Charge offers interest free loans to home owners to install renewable energy and low carbon technologies on their property. This scheme is the first of its kind in the UK and there are limited funds available.
Renewable and low carbon technologies are powered by abundant, free sources of clean energy such as wind, the sun and even plant and animal matter. Generating energy from renewable sources can help reduce our dependence on resources like fossil fuels, producing much less carbon dioxide – a major climate change gas.  It may be possible to generate a significant proportion of your home’s heat or electricity requirements from renewable and low carbon technologies and, with rising fossil fuel prices, significantly reduce your fuel bills.

How does the scheme work?

If your application is successful and your property is suitable for the technology you wish to install, RE–Charge will loan you up to £10,000, interest free. Any costs above £10,000 would be paid in advance by the householder.
A ‘Legal Charge’ (another name for a ‘mortgage’) will be taken as security over your property, the sum of the loan will become repayable upon change of ownership of your property.  Costs will vary depending upon the type and size of property and the type and size of technology installed. After a technical survey is carried out you will be provided with a quote including a full breakdown of the costs.

What technologies are available under this scheme?

The technologies available under the RE-Charge scheme are:

• Biomass heating systems
• Hydroelectricity
• Micro CHP (As this technology is in its infancy it is anticipated it will be available in years 2 and 3)
• Solar water heating
• Ground source heat pumps
• Air source heat pumps
• Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems

Wind energy will not be funded under RE-Charge.
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