British Gas offers £100 incentive for insulation scheme

The energy giant is offering £50 for referring people to its free insulation scheme for low-income households and £50 to the households themselves.

British Gas has announced that it is offering £50 to anyone who refers family, friends or neighbours that qualify for its free loft or cavity wall insulation.

The energy giant is way behind its Government target for installing free insulation in the homes of people on low incomes.

So it has introduced this incentive – which isn’t capped, so you can refer as many people as you want. You’ll receive £50 once the installation is complete, and so will the person you refer.

To qualify, the person you’re referring needs to either be receiving:

• State Pension Credit or

• Child Tax Credit with an income below £16,190 or

• One of the following income-related benefits: Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support or Income Related Employment Support Allowance Credit AND one of the following: parental responsibility for a child under five, Child Tax Credit including a disability, a Disabled Child Premium, a Disability Premium or a Pensioner Premium

To start the ball rolling, the person you’re referring needs to call 0800 975 1195 to arrange for a quote and they need to mention you as the person referring them.

Other companies’ incentives

British Gas isn’t the only company to offer incentives to low income households to persuade them to get free insulation fitted.

E.ON offers £100 to qualifying households, while Scottish & Southern Energy offers a £25 high street shopping voucher.

Free insulation for all

As part of the Government’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) scheme, several energy companies are also offering free insulation to anyone, regardless of income (although there are some restrictions on size and shape of house). In some cases, you may have to be a new or existing customer but in others you don’t need to even have your energy supplied by the company arranging the installation.

I wrote about who's offering what and the various exclusions in detail in How to get free cavity wall and loft insulation. It's worth noting that the deadlines for applying for some of the schemes are fast approaching.

The Energy Saving Trust estimates that good loft and cavity wall insulation could save the average household £310 a year off their energy bills.

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More: How to get free cavity wall and loft insulation | The Big Switch from Which?: Join the mass fightback against rising energy bills