Six grants you can get to lower your bills worth up to £6,000

MILLIONS of households could be eligible for free cash and grants worth up to £6,000 - a crucial lifeline as the cost of living crisis worsens.

It comes as latest forecasts show energy bills could hit £4,000 next year, pushing half of all homeowners into fuel poverty.

The soaring price of energy is linked to wholesale gas prices, which hit a record high of 530p per therm on Wednesday after Russia reduced supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany. 

While millions of households will get £400 knocked off their bills to help with the cost increase, many people are still struggling to make ends meet.

But there is other help you might be eligible to claim - and some of it is worth up to £6,000.

We've rounded up all the grants that can help you with your bills:

Household Support Fund

The Household Support Fund was launched in October last year to help Brits pay their way through winter.

It was only due to run until March, but has since been extended until September. 

As part of the scheme, councils up and down the country have been given a slice of £1.5 billion worth of funding.

But it's up to how they dish it out.

That means some give out free cash and others will send residents discount codes or supermarket vouchers - it very much depends where you live.

For example, Herefordshire council was allocated over £1million for its HSF and dished out one-off £60 payments to residents in the area.

To be eligible you needed to be living in Herefordshire, be on a low income and in receipt of Universal Credit.

Ealing Council gave out £25 supermarket vouchers to some families in its area - so you can also see eligibility changes depending on where you live.

You should go to your council’s website to find out whether you are eligible for its HSF. 

In some cases, payments are made automatically to residents who receive means-tested benefits, so there’s no need to do anything. 

But others need to make applications for the support directly to their relevant council. 

So it is always worth checking your council’s website. 

Home upgrade grant

Households with poor insulation and out-dated heating systems could save up to £200 thanks to a government scheme.

Hundreds of thousands of people overpay by as much as £246 on heating bills due to poor insulation alone.

Meanwhile, families in homes with lower energy efficiency ratings are thought to be suffering the most from global gas price increases.

The government announced in February that a new  will help as many as 4,300 households become more energy efficient.

But only the worst performing low-income, off gas grid homes, ranging from Energy Performance Certificate Bands D to G, will be eligible for the new upgrades.

If they are eligible, they will have measures like wall and roof insulation put in place, as well as new low-carbon heating systems, thermostats and room heating controls installed.

Households are expected to receive the upgrades by the end of March next year.

The funding itself will be delegated to local councils though, so you'll have to get in touch with yours to claim the energy efficient help.

Energy hardship funds

Hard-up households can get extra cash to help cover the rising cost of gas and electric - a number of providers, including British Gas, are offering hardship grants.

Each scheme varies and we've rounded up some of them before.

For British Gas's scheme, for example, you don't need to be a customer to get grants of up to £1,500, which are being dished out to those most in need.

You can apply for the help through the 

To be eligible you must have an energy debt you're looking to clear off and have sought help from a money service, like Citizen's Advice or Stepchange.

You also can't have received a grant from the British Gas Energy Trust within the last two years.

And remember it can take time to assess your application - you won't get the cash immediately.

Boiler upgrade scheme

Households looking to upgrade their home can apply for a free cash grant worth up to £6,000.

The scheme will help people replace old gas heating with newer, greener technology.

Gas boilers could soon be banned in a bid to reduce carbon emissions.

To encourage people to go for greener options the government is offering grants for installing heat pumps to help cover the cost.

Heat pumps are a greener way to heat your home and can lower your energy bills too.