Don’t get left out in the cold during this weekend’s big freeze – here’s 8 ways to keep the heat on AND cut your bills
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WE have begun the year in the grip of bone-chilling Arctic blasts. It could not have come at a worse time for the nearly ten million UK pensioners whose Winter Fuel Payments have just been axed. It also coincides with a rise in energy bills for 26million customers on standard tariffs.
![[Help beat the cold and pressures of higher fuel charges]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/senior-couple-cuddling-couch-blanket-961287795.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Prices went up by 1.2 per cent on January 1, costing households on average an extra £21 a year. It follows a ten per cent hike in October, when bills shot up £149. The UK Health Security Agency said an amber alert for cold weather will remain until at least Wednesday.
![[Make sure you send a reading to reduce the risk of your estimated bills being higher than is necessary]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/close-up-shot-home-smart-960242692.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
OAPs already faced a hard winter after Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Statement decreeing that the Winter Fuel Payment — which used to be paid to anyone of state- pension age — would be means-tested, with only those on certain benefits including Pension Credit keeping it.
![[Octopus is offering electric blankets to those who are struggling with bills]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/using-electric-blanket-winter-energy-937192731.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The deadline to apply for Pension Credit in time to keep this year’s payment passed just before Christmas. Age UK’s director Caroline Abrahams said: “We urge older people to do everything they can to stay warm, even if that means risking spending more on their heating than they feel they can afford.”.
![[If you are not on a fixed tariff, you could be missing out on hundreds of pounds of savings a year]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/NINTCHDBPICT000945090554.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
But many are unaware that Winter Fuel Payments are just one of a number of sources of help they could qualify for. The Sun’s Winter Fuel SOS campaign has already helped pensioners towards extra funds they could be getting. Here we highlight the support available . . .
