Taking action on energy bills in Cardiff
Taking action on energy bills in Cardiff
At Windsor Climate Primary School in Cardiff, the kettle is boiling and the mugs are laid out waiting to welcome local people to their first energy action workshop. The team running it are from the Caerau and Ely Action Team, part of Cardiff Citizens. Parents from Windsor Clive, along with their Family Engagement and Support Officer, parents from Pencaerau Primary School nearby, the local vicar and other residents make up the team which meets regularly to talk about the challenges they face and how to solve them. A common topic is housing. Issues abound – whether it’s overcrowded social housing where parents sleep in the dining room or siblings share beds, repairs that have been waiting for months, or, most common – damp and mould causing myriad physical and mental health concerns.
Today, they welcome Gareth from National Energy Action who will be providing some guidance on how to reduce their energy usage. Beth, a longstanding member of the school’s PTA, attended because she ‘wanted to find out how to save money on the rising cost of heating my home’. Similarly Christina, a parent at Windsor Clive, was looking for a ‘better understanding of energy and the changes I could implement which will save me money and be more efficient.’ Helen, one of the more experienced of the team was keen to run the session because she ‘wanted to share her experience with others and support the rest of the group’ as well as finding out the best way to ‘stop damp and mould if possible.’ And Helen knows the importance of sharing stories, having spoken at the Citizens UK National Assembly in July 2024 about her experiences. Storytelling was woven into the energy action session with Beth reflecting that she ‘learnt a lot and loved hearing that everyone has their own stories, ideas on tackling these issues.’
With the cups of tea made and the obligatory post-its and flipcharts distributed, the family room at Windsor Clive was full. Gareth’s section of the workshop session was well received with attendees learning ‘lots of facts and figures’ about energy usage. Thanks to the session Helen has bough blackout curtains which help stop draughts and cold coming in as well as reducing noise. Beth has been able to help her elderly father with his bills and he’s been placed on a priority list as he has medical equipment which needs power. Christina has been washing her clothes at a lower temperature and hopes to ‘change from electric heaters to oil filled radiators to save money and make it warmer’. She has also found additional support from National Energy Action around her specific energy costs and received some advice around vouchers.
Many of the session’s 20 attendees came for the practical advice but it provided more than that for the group. Christina reflected that: ‘it was a good opportunity to see that many people are in the same situation with energy and their homes. It felt like I’m not the only person struggling and that we should not have to due to rising cost that is out of our hands.’ The session had a friendly, buzzy energy and built strength within the community. As Beth said: ‘it made me not feel alone, empowered and understood there is support, advice that can help out there.’
This session was not a standalone event, the action team intentionally incorporated it into their organising. Contact details were gathered of eight people others keen to be notified about future work on this issue. Another school in the Cardiff alliance are keen to run a similar workshop, having seen the effective way it brings in local people and provides an offer of immediate support as well as imagination for longer term change. The team will be sharing their experience and what they’ve learnt at a Learning Thursday session.
The Cardiff action team aren’t going to stop there. They’re already planning another workshop, this time around tenants’ rights or money advice. They aim to find new stories to build the team and support local people with their immediate needs. They want to see wider-scale change and are planning a round table health board members, councillors and member institutions to explore how community and council can work together to deliver root-cause solutions to housing problems.