Why some over-60s face energy bill shock

As E.ON pulls its StayWarm tariff, designed for the over-60s, we look at what help is still available for older people and the tariffs that will prevent further bill shocks in the coming months.

E.ON has taken a hammering this week after announcing it planned to scrap a special energy tariff specifically designed for the over-60s.

The StayWarm tariff offers a fixed price based on your energy use over the preceding year. But as of next week older people on the tariff will be moved over to E.ON’s standard tariff, a move that could cost them the best part of £200 a year more.

E.ON has defended the move, saying that it has been forced to dump the tariff as a result of new proposals from the energy regulator Ofgem, which means it is only allowed to offer four tariffs per fuel. Meanwhile Ofgem has said that it didn't tell any suppliers which tariffs they had to keep.

It’s all got a bit unseemly and has distracted from the main point: how can older people keep their energy bills as low as possible?

Energy costs for older people

The energy bills that older people face is a real cause for concern. Analysis by Saga at the start of this year found that pensioner energy bills doubled between 2005 and 2012, as we looked at in Pensioner energy bills double in seven years.

Part of the problem is that older people tend to be at home more often, so have the heating on for longer. As a result it’s very easy to build up significant fuel bills.

[SPOTLIGHT]There is help available though.

For example there’s the Winter Fuel Payment, which pays out between £100 and £300 if you were born on or before 5th January 1952. The payments are made between November and December. You should get the payment automatically if you receive the State Pension or another social security benefit that isn’t Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction or Child Benefit.

If it isn’t paid automatically, you will need to make a claim. For full details check out this section of the GOV.uk website.

There’s also the Cold Weather Payment. This is available to people on certain benefits and is paid out when your local temperature is either recorded as, or forecast to be, at an average of zero degrees Celsius or below for seven straight days.

You’ll get a payment of £25 for each seven-day period running from 1st November to 31st March. As with the Winter Fuel Payment, you should be paid the Cold Weather Payment automatically.

Finally there’s the Warm Home Discount scheme, which is available to:

• People over 75 who are getting the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit (even if you get Savings Credit)
• People under 75 who are only getting the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit (but not if you get Savings Credit too)

If that applies to you, you could get a £135 discount on your electricity bill. This discount is available even to people on pre-pay or pay-as-you-go meters.

Finally, there’s the Surviving Winter campaign, which has run for the past two years. This campaign focuses on encouraging more well-off older people to donate their Winter Fuel Payment to their struggling counterparts. If it’s relaunched for this year – and I can’t see why it wouldn’t be – expect to hear more about it from next month.

Time to fix?

Fixing your energy tariff is a popular move at the moment, no matter your age, with the expectation that all of the 'big six' suppliers are set to announce significant price rises in the coming weeks, though green provider Ecotricity has pledged not to raise electricity prices at all for the rest of the year.

As a result, the idea that you can get a little consistency with your fuel bill is tempting. Just bear in mind that you will have a pay a premium for that certainty, just as you do with fixed rate mortgages.

If you fancy fixing your tariff, these are the best of the bunch at the moment

Compare gas and electricity deals with lovemoney.com

More on gas and electricity

Ecotricity pledges to freeze electricity prices until 2014

You don't need Ed Miliband to fix your energy bills

How prepayment, credit and smart energy meters work

Who owns the UK's big energy companies?