OREANDA-NEWS. SSE's Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme, which helps thousands of customers every year, is open for applications.

The annual scheme provides a range of financial support for people in particular circumstances, including low income families, those with a disability, long term illness, or who are elderly. The help available includes a £140 credit towards winter fuel bills, debt relief and benefit entitlement checks.

The scheme has already helped more than 1 million customers in the past 3 years and is expected to help at least a further 300,000 customers across Great Britain this year.

Annette Sloan, SSE's Priority Services and Partnerships Co-ordinator, encourages people to get in touch. She said: "With summer now looking a distant memory, there is no better time to check what help you can receive with your winter fuel bills.

"The Warm Home Discount is an important and essential scheme which gives financial support to some of our most vulnerable customers.

"However, not everyone is aware of it and this is why we want to get the word out loud and clear to help generate awareness of the scheme and encourage customers to check their eligibility and get in touch with us."

The Warm Home Discount assistance includes customers who meet the Core Group and Broader Group categories as outlined by Ofgem. Those in the Core Group are identified and contacted by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). This group has been widened this year to include more low income pensioners.

The Broader Group includes vulnerable customers who don't automatically qualify under the Core Group but may meet SSE's own eligibility criteria - one of widest in the industry.

In addition to the Core and Broader group classifications of the WHD, SSE's Priority Assistance Fund can, in some cases, also help with debt relief. SSE's Priority Assistance Fund has helped around 15,000 customers with debt relief or appliances over the past 2 years.

Annette adds: "Even in you don't qualify under the Warm Home Discount or for our Priority Assistance Fund, we're here to help each and every one of our customers and ask that anyone worried about their fuel bills or would like advice to get in touch."

SSE offers support to all customers, irrespective of their circumstances, with assistance such as energy efficiency advice and tailored payments plans. It is also the only energy supplier committed to freezing prices until 2016 providing long term peace of mind for customers.