Providing energy advice and support for refugees

This week is Refugee Week, which presents an opportunity to highlight the barriers faced by the refugee community we regularly work with, and to offer our solidarity and support to the community.  Here, our energy advisors highlight how they support the refugee community through their work…

Refugees face a myriad of barriers to living and working in the UK. One lesser acknowledged and understood barrier for refugees is that when they move into new properties, they often struggle to understand and pay their various bills, including their utilities and energy bills.  Often, English is their second language, and correspondence from energy and utility companies is written exclusively in complex, jargon-filled English, with no clear instructions.  They may not have received and paid bills in the same way in their home country.  Our team regularly supports refugees to set up energy accounts and then to understand, manage, and pay their energy bills.  

This support includes:  

• Registering with gas and electricity companies  
• Finding the best tariff for the household’s needs  
• Assisting with calls to suppliers  
• Assisting with translation and understanding of energy bills  
• Conducting home visits to show people how to make the most out of their heating systems and save on their energy bills 
• Informing suitable households of the suppliers’ Priority Services Register  
• Managing any energy debt a household may have accumulated  
• Discussing the best payment method for the household and helping to change to this payment method.

One person that our team has supported in this way is Fatima.  Fatima, a refugee who has settled in the UK,  disclosed to our energy advice team that she found it difficult to keep her pre-payment electricity meter topped up and as a result, she was in debt on her gas credit meter.  Initially, we supported Fatima and her family by making referrals for them to receive energy vouchers to top up their pre-payment meter.  Fatima did not understand why she was in debt, as she found trying to read her energy bills and engage with her energy supplier in a language she was not fluent in very difficult.  Therefore, we then supported Fatima at one of our Arabic drop-in sessions, where our advisors give one-to-one tailored energy advice with an Arabic interpreter present.  As a result, our advisors were able to support Fatima to apply for her energy supplier’s vulnerable support scheme, which supported Fatima’s family for six months to pay their debt off, matching the £100 direct debit payments she made to reduce her debt.  After attending multiple appointments and workshops with our team, Fatima and her family now understand how to reduce and pay their energy bills.  

This wrap-around support makes refugees who use our service feel more at ease, supported, and knowledgeable.  

For a list of our energy advice sessions with an Arabic or Farsi interpreter available, click here.  If you or anyone you know requires energy advice in any other language, please get in contact with us on 0161 205 2754 or on energyadvice@caritassalford.org.uk and one of our advisors will assist and provide wrap-around support using translation devices where possible.  

Take a look here at how you might be able to get involved and support our work with other refugees like Fatima too.