Working together
We have an important role to play in combatting fuel poverty, working together with our partner organisations to identify households affected and provide funded connections to the gas network under our Help to Heat scheme.
We partner with local authorities and frontline organisations to connect homes in the south of England and across Scotland to our network. Partners check eligibility and refer qualified households to us for a funded first-time gas connection.
Becoming a SGN approved partner
We're actively building local partnerships with organisations under our approved partner programme.
Our partners must ensure funds are targeted at fuel poor and vulnerable customers and establish whether a household qualifies for the Fuel Poor Network Extension Scheme (FPNES), and that gas is the best solution. Under our scheme we also ask partners to demonstrate that they treat customers fairly and act in a genuine manner. Full details of the eligibility criteria that FPNES connections must meet have been published by Ofgem.
If your organisation is interested in becoming a SGN partner, please complete our online application form.
Submission process for SGN approved partners
Approved households can be referred for a voucher funded connection using our declaration forms.
Help to Heat declaration form – Southern
Help to Heat declaration form – Scotland
For partners requesting a new funded gas connection, please complete and submit the Help to Heat declaration along with the SGN Eligibility Checker to helptoheat.enquiries@sgn.co.uk
Other ways to help
If you’re a local authority or a voluntary organisation who could help us spread the word, please get in touch by emailing our Help to Heat team.
Our Help to Heat leaflet is available to download, or you can email us to request paper copies to share in your community.
Together, we can make a real difference to households living in fuel poverty.
Why is gas the right choice for heating homes?
- Gas is the fuel of choice for households in Great Britain, meeting the heating needs of almost 85% of homes.
- Homes without mains gas are twice as likely to be fuel poor [1].
- It’s cheaper to heat a house with gas than electricity – about three to four times cheaper. Gas costs around 4.1p per kWh on average [2], whereas electricity costs around 17.3p per kWh [3].
- Our network has a vital part to play in the UK’s future net-zero energy system and we’re decarbonising the gas that flows through our network. Find out more about the future of our network.
Sources:
[1] Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy – Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics Report, June 2019.
[2] Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy – Average variable unit costs and fixed costs for electricity for GB regions, December 2019
[3] Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy –Average variable unit costs and fixed costs for gas for GB regions, December 2019)