Grants for helping with fuels cost are now available from Powys County Council and eligible residents are being encouraged to apply online.

Any households getting certain benefits may be entitled to a one-off payment of £200 from Powys Council to provide some support towards paying fuel bills as part of the Welsh Government Fuel Support Scheme.

In addition, as part of the council's Discretionary Cost of Living Support Scheme, some of these households may also be entitled to a further one-off payment of £150 if they are responsible for paying off-grid heating fuel bills.

For more information about the schemes and to check eligibility, please visit Fuel Support Scheme 2022/23 and Discretionary Cost of Living Support Scheme

To ease the application process, the form to apply for both schemes is combined with applicants eligible for both payments automatically identified.

Cllr Matthew Dorrance, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for a Fairer Powys said:

"With rising costs and a cold winter ahead of us, the prospect of heating our homes is undoubtable a worrying thought for many of us."

"We strongly encourage all eligible households to get in touch and apply for the grants available to help with the cost of heating our homes this winter."

Cllr David Thomas, Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Transformation, added

"Along with these grants to help with fuel costs, the council's main Cost of Living Support Scheme and the discretionary Cost of Living Support Scheme has other one-off payments which may help during this time of austerity.

"We are in the process of writing to households we know are eligible for these schemes, but if anyone else wants to find out more information about what help is available, please just take a look at the council website: Grants and Community Support"