MORE than £1million has been set aside to help homeowners in Cumbria pay their fuel bills.

The money has been made available by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as part of the Central Heating Fund (CHF) with the aim of helping

low income home-owners reduce their ever-increasing energy bills.

According to DECC, the initiative could help households in Cumbria save up to £1,000 a year.

Many households with no central heating are often off the gas grid and use expensive electric heating.

However, making use of the CHF could enable these homes to switch to oil which has continued to plummet in price over recent months and remains by far the cheapest form of home heating available.

Currently, 14,000 oil heated homes in Cumbria are saving an average £700 a year in fuel bills compared to households using electric heating based on costs for an average three bedroom home.

The Central Heating Fund announcement has been welcomed by OFTEC, the UK trade body for oil heating, which has been lobbying the government to take action to help the high number of households living in fuel poverty.

Malcolm Farrow, from OFTEC, said: "This new funding is welcome relief for those homes in Cumbria who are living without a central heating system – a basic necessity which most of us are lucky enough to take for granted. Through the scheme, homeowners will be able to keep their houses warmer and significantly reduce their annual heating bills.

"The announcement from government has come at a good time as homes using oil have seen fuel prices halve in the last two years – making it by far the cheapest option for off gas grid households. If those making use of the Central Heating Fund can switch to oil, the savings could be quite considerable."