REAP offers free and impartial energy advice to households across Moray through our Energy Advice Moray project. Anyone who lives in Moray is eligible for advice and can speak to REAP directly. We particularly want to hear from people spending a large part of their income on heating their home and those who are worried about paying their bills or fuel debt. We can provide advice by phone, you can arrange an appointment at our office in Keith or come along to drop-in sessions and events across Moray. If necessary, we may arrange a visit to your home. We can offer advice on:
- Getting the best deal on your energy bills
- Switching tariffs and/or suppliers
- Saving energy in your home
- How to use heating controls to keep you warm and save money
- Information on energy grants and schemes (see links below for more information)
REAP works in partnership with other agencies in Moray. We work closely with Moray Council, Home Energy Scotland, Moray Food Plus, Citizens’ Advice Bureau (Moray CAB), housing officers, health visitors and others. Depending on your situation, we can make referrals on to these organisations, too.
Please call us on 01542 888070 or email info@reapscotland.org.uk and one of our trained Energy Advisors will get back to you.
This work is funded by the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme, www.energyredress.org.uk, and Scottish Gas Network, www.sgn.co.uk
Further information on grants, loans, and help with heating bills
Click the links to jump to each section
Energy Grants (Warmer Homes Scotland Scheme, ECO/Affordable Warmth Scheme, HEEPS)
Pension Age Winter Fuel Payment
Help to Heat: Assisted Gas connections
Feed in Tariffs and Smart Export Guarantee
Switching
Switching can save money on your heating bills. We can take a look at your heating bills and do a switching comparison either online or over the phone in your home if you’d like some help. We are impartial so do not recommend one supplier over another and all our energy advice services are free. Switching is free, should take no more than 21 days, and there will be no disruption to your supply. Find out more about the switching guarantee here.
Switching Online
If you’d like to switch online yourself, use an Ofgem accredited switching company – they adhere to a code of conduct and will tell you about all the tariffs they have available, not just the ones that they get paid commission on. You’ll find a link to a list on this page of the Ofgem website.
Switching by phone
If you’d prefer to switch by phone, for example you may want to use Uswitch and also look at the Ofgem website for other accredited switching companies. Have your energy bills to hand and after a 10 minute call their energy advisors will find the best tariff for you. They also factor in Warm Home Discount and the kind of service you’ll get from providers so please ask so you can make an informed decision. You can contact them directly on 0800 6888 557 to find out more (0800 numbers are now free from all UK mobiles on all networks) or go to the Uswitch website.
Things you might want to check when switching:
- What is the tariff rate? What are the standing charges?
- Is the rate fixed or variable? If it’s fixed, will it stay fixed or will it come down if energy prices come down?
- What are the terms of the contract? How long is it for? Is there an exit fee if I leave early?
- How can I pay my bill – by post, online, by phone?
- Are there any discounts – for direct debit, paperless billing, for dual fuel?
- Are there any other incentives? e.g. cashback or boiler cover included
- If you’ve had any problems in the past, you may also want to check what happens if you can’t pay – does the company offer payment holidays or will it come to an agreement with you or does it offer a budget or flexi scheme to help smooth out energy costs over the year.
*Switching and the Warm Home Discount (WHD) – if you are entitled to the WHD (a £150 rebate on your bill if you are in receipt of Pension Credit guarantee element or certain other benefits), you need to have been a customer of your energy supplier for at least 6 months so it’s a good idea to switch soon after receiving your WHD payment.
Grants
For free and impartial advice on grants and loans and to check your eligibility, call Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282, or contact REAP and we can put in a referral for you. Grants include Warmer Home Scotland (WHS) and Energy Company Obligation (ECO 4). These grants are available to owner occupiers, or to private tenants who have their landlord’s permission to apply. Eligible households must receive qualifying benefits and meet other criteria. These grants are not available to Council or housing association tenants, who should contact their housing provider.
Warmer Home Scotland (WHS)
Warmer Homes Scotland is Scottish Government funded support designed to help eligible homeowners and private sector tenants who are struggling to heat their home. It aims to make homes warmer by installing energy-saving measures such as insulation, central heating, draught-proofing and renewable heating systems.
Energy saving home improvements, including central heating systems and insulation, to eligible households who are struggling to keep warm or with the cost of their energy bills; making homes warmer, more comfortable and more affordable to heat.
To be eligible, you must have lived in the property for at least 12 months and meet other qualifying criteria such as being aged over 75 with no central heating, being a person who has a DS1500 or BASRiS certificate or in receipt of passport benefits
Advisors at Home Energy Scotland (0808 808 2282) can guide you through the process. Further information and the full list of qualifying criteria are also available on the Home Energy Scotland website
Energy Company Obligation (ECO 4)
Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is UK government energy efficiency scheme led by the private sector to tackle fuel poverty and help reduce carbon emissions. Funded by major energy suppliers, ECO4 will help householders save on their energy bills and reduce carbon emissions by offering insulation measures and first time central heating systems to Owner Occupiers and Private Tenants who meet the Local Authority’s ECO Flex criteria as stated in Moray Council’s Statement of Intent.
In order to benefit from ECO your property will need to require energy efficiency upgrades. The specific measures that would benefit your home would be determined by a retrofit assessment. It is a whole house approach to increase EPC rating – clients cannot pick and choose measures – it’s up to the contractor.
Advisors at Home Energy Scotland (0808 808 2282) can guide you through the application process, or contact REAP to be referred.
Loans
The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme provides homeowners in Scotland a grant, interest free loan or a combination of both to install clean heating systems and energy efficiency measures.
For clean heating systems such as heat pumps, grant funding of up to £7,500 is available, with an additional £7,500 of funding available as an optional interest free loan.
For energy efficiency measures such as insulation, grant funding is available up to 75% of the combined cost of measures up to a maximum grant amount of £7,500. The remainder of funding requested can be taken up as an optional interest-free loan up to the maximum funding limit per improvement.
An uplift of £1,500 is available for rural and island homes to both the clean heating and energy efficiency grants, meaning rural households can claim up to £18,000 in grant funding.
You can find full details on Home Energy Scotland‘s website.
Warm Home Discount
You could get £150 off your electricity bill for winter 2025 to 2026 under the Warm Home Discount Scheme.
You qualify if you either:
- get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit
- are on a low income in Scotland and meet your energy supplier’s criteria for the scheme – this the known as the “Broader Group”
If you receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, you will automatically get a letter telling you about the discount if you’re eligible and do not need to apply.
Otherwise, you’ll need to apply directly to your energy supplier. You might be eligible if all of the following apply:
- your energy supplier is part of the scheme
- you (or your partner) get certain means-tested benefits or tax credits
- your name (or your partner’s) is on the electricity bill
Your electricity supplier may have extra eligibility criteria. They’ll also tell you which benefits mean you are eligible.
If you are in the broader group, you will need to contact your electricity supplier to check if you’re eligible and to apply. They will decide who gets the discount in Scotland. The number of discounts suppliers can give is limited. Contact them as early as possible, most suppliers open their scheme for applications from September/October 2025.
Most suppliers prefer applications to be made online. For assistance please contact our advice helpline on 01542 888070 or email: info@reapscotland.org.uk
If you’re eligible, your electricity supplier will apply the discount to your bill by 31 March 2026. You’ll need to stay with your supplier until it’s paid.
Pension Age Winter Fuel Payment
The Winter Fuel Payment has been replaced by the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment for people in Scotland. It is paid once a year by Social Security Scotland and is designed to help people of State Pension age who live in Scotland pay their heating bills.
Payments in winter 2025: If you’re eligible, you could get a payment of between £101.70 and £305.10.
How much you’re paid will depend on:
- your age
- the age of anyone you live with who is also eligible for Pension Age Winter Heating Payment
- if you receive certain benefits from DWP as a joint award
- if you live in residential care
Eligibility
Social Security Scotland looks at your situation during a specific week to see if you’re eligible: Monday 15 September to Sunday 21 September 2025. This is called the qualifying week.
To be eligible, you must have:
- been born on, or before, 21 September 1959
- lived in Scotland during the qualifying week
Most eligible people will be paid automatically. These payments will be made from November 2025.
Find out more at: www.mygov.scot/pension-age-winter-heating-payment
Winter Heating Payment
Some people in Scotland get a single payment during winter called Winter Heating Payment. This will be paid from December 2025 and will be £59.75.
You will get Winter Heating Payment automatically if you get one of the benefits that make you eligible during the qualifying week of 3 November to 9 November 2025. Social Security Scotland uses your data to decide if you get Winter Heating Payment.
When?
You’ll automatically get the single payment between December and February. This does not depend on how cold it is.
You’ll get a letter or an email from Social Security Scotland telling you it’s coming. It appears as ‘WHP’ on your bank statement, WHP stands for Winter Heating Payment.
Qualifying Benefits Include:
Pension Credit
Support for Mortgage Interest and you have a child under 5 or you get:
- a disability premium
- a pensioner premium
- a child disability premium
Universal Credit and you’re employed or self-employed and get a child or young person disability element or:
you are not employed or self-employed and you have either:
- a limited capability for work element
- a limited capability for work element with a work related activity element
- a child or young person disability element
- a child under 5
Income Support or Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance and you have a child under 5 or you get:
- a disability premium
- a severe disability premium
- a pensioner premium
- the child disability premium
Income Related Employment Support Allowance and you have a child under 5 or you’re in a support group or a work related activity group or you get:
- a severe or enhanced disability premium
- a pensioner premium
Help to Heat: Assisted Gas Connections
SGN offer free or reduced cost gas connections to qualifying households. SGN looks after the gas network in the whole of Scotland, they are not the company you pay your gas bills to. You must make arrangements to install a gas central heating system before the connection can go ahead. You may be able to get help with the costs of that, for example through Warmer Homes Scotland Scheme (0808 808 2282). For more information on qualifying criteria and how to apply see this page on SGN’s website.
Damp
You can download an easy read leaflet on dealing with damp from the Centre for Sustainable Energy’s, available here.
Damp and mould are bad for your home and may make asthma and other health problems worse. Damp can be caused by condensation. This causes mould that looks like clouds of little black dots in cold spots, on walls and ceilings, often in the bathroom or kitchen, or behind furniture or in cupboards. Damp can also be due to leaking roofs or water pipes.
To deal with damp, try to find out the cause. Repair any leaks or other damage. Tackle a general damp or condensation problem by:
Reducing the amount of moist air in your home
• Keep the lids on your saucepans when you are cooking
• Dry your clothes outdoors, or on a clothes airer in a bathroom with the window open. Do not dry them on a radiator
• If your tumble dryer has a hose, make sure it is outside
• Do not use paraffin heaters or bottled gas heaters
• Keep kitchen and bathroom doors shut when you cook, or when you have a shower or bath
Improve ventilation and let moist air out
• Open the window while cooking or showering so that steam goes outside, not into your other rooms, or use an extractor fan if you have one – they are not expensive to run
• If your windows have trickle vents fitted, keep them open
• Make sure there is a gap between furniture and the walls. Air your wardrobes and cupboards sometimes by leaving the doors open
• Open windows to give unused rooms an airing from time to time
Make sure your home is warm and well insulated
• Make sure your loft and walls are insulated
• Make sure your windows and outside doors have draught proofing
• Change single glazed windows for double glazing
• Don’t put furniture in front of radiators
• Set any radiators to low in unused rooms where damp is a problem
There’s useful information on condensation and damp on the Energy Saving Trust website.
Feed in Tariffs (FIT) and Smart Export Guarantee
Feed in Tariffs were part of a UK Government scheme which paid money to people generating electricity e.g. through solar panels. It closed to new applications after 31st March 2019. Previous applicants can find information on GOV.UK and Energy Saving Trust websites. You can find information about the upcoming Smart Export Guarantee on the Energy Saving Trust website. Further information on administration of the scheme is available on the Ofgem website and the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) is here.