TENANTS who were disconnected from a district heating scheme after running up fuel debts are being urged to attend a public meeting.

The Wyndford Tenants Association has arranged a community event, next week, following concerns, highlighted in the Evening Times about the number of disconnections and debt recovery processes enacted by heating provider SSE.

The Evening Times reported how the energy supplier had been demanding a £274 reconnection fee and 50% of any outstanding debt from customers in Wyndford who had their communal heating and hot water supply cut off.

After talks between Mr Doris, the Citizens Advice and the landlord Cube Housing, SSE agreed to a plan to connect some homes but it is unclear how many tenants remain disconnected. Energy regulator Ofgem has been asked to investigate and a public meeting has also now been organised by Wyndford Tenants Union (WTU) on April 4, at 6.30pm at The Hub.

Read more: District heating tenants hit with £274 reconnection fees

Nick Durie of WTA said: “We want to test to see how many people are affected and whether this is something we should be tying in to our organising drive.

“Heating and hot water are always collective issues in the Wyndford, as there is a combined heat and power system.

“ Previously the Wyndford Residents Association, which preceded the WTU won a negotiated settlement for low energy users following a complex negotiation and campaign.

“ It appears that new issues have arisen however and we want to get to the bottom of this and find out how many people are affected, and provide support to those up against it.”

Mr Durie said concerns had also been raised about the impact of a change from pay-as-you-go key meters to quarterly billing.

He said: “This also coalesced with a new standing charge which I think is 44p a day so what we are finding is that people who wer used to managing their money on a weekly basis are now in the position of getting quite monstrous bills which are mainly standing charges.

Read more: Ofgem to launch probe into SSE disconnection charges

“I met a woman today (Tuesday) who stays in temporary accommodation. Her rent is £1100 and she used £5 of heating over that quarter but her bill is £50.

“I think (SSE) have done too many changes at once.

“The standing charge has gone up, the reconnection fee, these are all new things they have introduced.

“The heating itself is good, the houses are warm. There is no question of that when tenants can afford to heating their homes but there has always been an issue with the standing charge.”

A spokeswoman for Cube Housing said: “We are here to help any tenant on the Wyndford estate who has been disconnected or who is threatened with disconnection by SSE for not paying their bills.

“We can offer our tenants a wide range of support, including fuel advice and help to make sure they are claiming all the benefits that they are entitled to. We also encourage them to engage with the energy company and to set up a payment plan.

“As part of our ongoing involvement, we check if a tenant is vulnerable and alert the energy company if this is the case, which prevents disconnection.”