Winter Fuel

Winter Fuel Payment in Portugal

Energy bills can be a huge burden here in Portugal, especially for older people trying to keep their badly insulated Portuguese homes warm in winter.

People very quickly become acclimatised to the hot summers here but it is the winters that we feel the most especially the elderly. Electricity and fuel oil prices are high so it is always a choice between keeping warm or saving on a limited pensioner’s budget.
I noticed that there were many reports of people petitioning their MP’s back in the UK about the ending of the winter fuel allowance for those of us living abroad.

The British Winter Fuel scheme was set up to help elderly people pay their heating bills, and is worth between £100 and £300 every year.
It seems that the government has changed the way that they calculate winter temperature for each country and British pensioners living in such places as France will no longer receive any money.

Average energy costs are typically around 1,500 a year. I have heard people saying that their utilities cost 3,000 a year so it obviously depends upon how big your home is and how warm you keep it.

Hopefully the fuel oil prices will remain low for a while so that we can stock up for next year.