The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) has confirmed that its WHAM project, which stands for Warmer Homes, Advice and Money, has been funded by Wales & West Utilities since April 20241. WHAM has been running since 2017 and works with households in Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) and North Somerset1.
The project supports people on low incomes and those struggling to afford to heat their homes, offering advice on energy bills, benefits and money, help with budgeting and debt, and access to grants for heating repairs and upgrades1. CSE states that WHAM has supported 5,021 households to the value of £3.24m in financial savings and benefits1.
The funding position is described in two ways on the same page. One line states that since April 2024 WHAM has been funded by Wales & West Utilities1. A later section states that WHAM is now in its seventh year and currently funded by Energy Redress, Wales & West Utilities and North Somerset council1. The page also says the project is supported by Bristol, North Somerset and BANES councils1. The relative size of each contribution has not been reported.
"Since April 2024, WHAM has been funded by Wales & West Utilities"
WHAM operates as a partnership. CSE lists Talking Money, We Care Home Improvements, Citizens Advice in Bristol, BANES and North Somerset, North Bristol Advice Centre, AMS Electrical, Bristol Energy Network and Clean Slate as partners1. Caseworkers rotate between partner organisations and act as a single point of contact for clients1. The project also works with Southmead Hospital in Bristol, Weston General and Bristol Royal Infirmary, where hospital staff can refer patients directly so that support can begin while the patient is still in hospital1. CSE says WHAM has been recognised as an example of good practice by Public Health England and Ofgem1.
Why it matters for households
WHAM is one of the routes by which households in the Bristol, BANES and North Somerset area can reach practical help with heating costs and cold or damp homes. The funding change places the project's core support within the Wales & West Utilities area, the gas network that covers Wales and the south west of England. For a household, the practical effect is that advice on bills, benefits and heating repairs continues to be delivered through a single caseworker rather than through separate agencies, and that referrals can come from hospital staff as well as from advice organisations1. Access to grants for heating repairs and upgrades is listed among the support WHAM provides1. The scale of that support, at 5,021 households and £3.24m in savings and benefits, is cumulative since the project began in 2017 rather than a figure for the current year1.
What happens next
No end date for the Wales & West Utilities funding, and no further funding announcements, have been reported1.