Today, 26 November 2025,is National Energy Action’s (NEA) Fuel Poverty Awareness Day. It’s an annual effort to increase understanding of the stress faced by millions in the UK who have to sacrifice food and other basics just to keep warm – or can’t afford to keep warm at all.
The ongoing cost-of-living crisis as ever puts the most pressure on those who can least afford it. For some, budgets are stretched to the point where they are faced with yet another winter in a cold home, too worried about the cost of putting the heating on.
As Severn Wye knows all too well, unheated homes can be unhealthy homes, with occupants facing not just the discomfort of cold but potential problems like damp and poor air quality that can lead to long-term physical and mental health problems.
Severn Wye is joining the NEA’s Fuel Poverty Awareness campaign as part of a united voice for change.
But we know that to create lasting change, we need a reform of the energy pricing system and a long-term investment in energy efficiency that will cut energy costs and reduce carbon at scale.
Help is available
Fuel Poverty Awareness Day is also a chance to increase awareness of the advice and support that’s available. Charities like NEA work nationally to offer help with energy use and bills. Severn Wye’s adviceline and community-based teams help thousands of vulnerable people across Wales and the English border counties every year to change the way they use energy.
So if you’re struggling, we can help, with free energy-efficiency support appropriate to your home and circumstances. We can help with reading meters and understanding bills, provide low-cost measures that will cut your energy use straight away, and talk to suppliers on your behalf to set up accounts, resolve disputes and agree affordable repayment plans.
Our knowledgeable advisers can often refer people for funding schemes that give grants towards things like new heating systems, insulation and renewables.
You’re not on your own
Find out more about the help we can give here: www.severnwye.org.uk/advice-support
