Help with Household Bills
The Energy Bill Discount removes £400 off energy bills for households in Great Britain. This automatic, non-repayable discount will be applied in six instalments over 6 months (October 2022 to March 2023). Energy suppliers will deliver this support to households with a domestic electricity meter. Direct debit and credit customers will have the money credited to their account, while customers with pre-payment meters will have the money applied to their meter or paid via a voucher.
Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), from 1 October 2022 will discount the unit cost for gas and electricity use. The Government expects a typical household will save £1000 a year under the EPG.
Fuel Duty:
Fuel duty for petrol and diesel has been cut by 5 pence per litre across the whole of the UK until March 2023. It saves £100 for the average car driver.
Help with paying Council Tax
A non-repayable £150 cash rebate has been provided for homes in Council Tax bands A-D (equivalent to 80 per cent of all households) and £144 million of discretionary funding for local authorities to support those not eligible for the council tax rebate.
Portsmouth Water
Portsmouth Water provides drinking water in the Portsmouth area with Southern Water providing wastewater services.
You might be able to reduce your water bills by transferring to a water meter. If this is something you are considering doing please visit the following link which provides helpful information on transferring to a water meter.
Switching to a Water Meter | Portsmouth Water
Portsmouth Water also operates a WaterSure Tariff for those on a water meter, in receipt of certain benefits, who live with children or where a member of the household has a medical condition that requires the use of a significant amount of water. To check if you might be eligible please visit:
Problems Paying? | Portsmouth Water
For those on low incomes, you might also be able to access the Helping Hand Tariff operated by Portsmouth Water which caps your Water Bill. For more information and how to apply please visit the following link:
Portsmouth Water – Helping Hand Tariff | CCW (ccwater.org.uk)
Portsmouth Water also offers an Arrears Assist Scheme where you can apply for help if you have arrears of £300 or more and have been making regular payments to your account. More information is provided in the following link at the Portsmouth Water website:
Problems Paying? | Portsmouth Water
You can call the Affordability and Debt Team at Portsmouth Water on 0800 4320534 for help and advice with making an application.
Southern Water
Southern Water also offers a range of help in meeting the costs of your water bill. These include:
- Caps to your bill if you have a water meter through WaterSure
- Ways of paying your bills directly through your benefits through Water Direct
- Help with paying off your debt through Newstart
- Help with a discount on future bills through Essentials
You might be eligible for a discount on your bill if:
- Your household income is low
- Someone in your household receives a means-tested benefit
- You have three or more children under 19 in your house
- Someone in your house requires more water due to a medical condition
- You haven’t made a payment for a while
As the cost-of-living increases, they offer a range of support to customers who may struggle to pay their bills. These include payment holidays, special tariffs, debt write-offs, bill reductions and grants for household items. More information can be found at their website.
You can contact Southern Water at https://www.southernwater.co.uk/help-advice/contact-us. Alternatively, you can call Southern Water for free on 0800 027 0363.
Broadband and TV
For those on low incomes or in receipt of certain benefits there are low income broadband packages available which provide a basic broadband connection with some packages offering to waive connection fees. For more information about the packages available and to check eligibility please visit Uswitch at
Broadband deals for low income families
Further advice and information on how to reduce broadband and TV costs is also provided at the Money Saving Expert website at the following link
Broadband & TV Guides
Mobile Phones
Most advisory organisations recommend contacting your provider directly for help if your struggling with your mobile phone bill. Your provider may be able to help by sorting a payment plan, reducing your bill, giving you more time to pay, increasing your data or download limit or moving you to a contract which suits your needs better.
Detailed advice is provided by the Citizens Advice Bureau in relation to options that might be available if you are struggling to pay your mobile phone bill on their website at
If you’re struggling to pay your mobile, phone, internet or TV bill – Citizens Advice
Alternatively, you can call the Citizen’s Advice Consumer helpline Line directly for help on 0808 223 1133.