Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, visited the local British Gas Energy Trust Post Office Pop-Up in Waverley Mall yesterday.
It was launched to provide free money and energy advice in person to those struggling with energy debt over winter.
The Edinburgh pop-up comes as data from the British Gas Energy Trust shows 40% of people in Edinburgh say that certain cut-backs they’ve made due to cost of living have negatively impacted their mental health.
Other findings include:
- 34% of people in Edinburgh have limited their usage of household appliances and 39% are reluctant to use heat or electricity within the home making the cold months daunting.
- The rising cost of energy has caused 40% of people in Edinburgh a fair amount of additional stress with 28% of people thinking they’ll struggle to pay their energy bills in the coming year
- 34% of parents have cut down on their own food consumption to be able to feed their children.
Rolling out across the country, the British Gas Energy Trust is bringing its pop-ups to Edinburgh for the public to visit on 29th & 30th January and at a second Edinburgh location on the 5th & 6th February (14a Westside Plaza, EH14 TSV) – helping people seek money and energy support and advice through the support of locally funded projects.
This includes checking eligibility for energy grants of up to £1,500 for all customers, regardless of energy supplier.