The extra help will be targeted towards people with pre-payment meters and households not connected to mains gas.
It comes as figures show people on pre-payment meters in North Wales have been the hardest hit in the UK by rising standing charges, with costs increasing by 102%. Standing charges for people on pre-payment meters in South Wales have risen by 94% – the fourth highest in Britain.
The £4m of new funding will enable the Fuel Bank Foundation to introduce a national voucher scheme, providing direct support to eligible households on prepayment meters and those not connected to the mains gas network.
Nearly 120,000 people on prepayment meters will be eligible for approximately 49,000 vouchers to support them during the cost-of-living crisis. Vouchers will range from £30 in summer months to £49 in winter, with households receiving up to three vouchers over a six-month period.
The £4m will also include a Heat Fund, which will provide direct support to eligible households living off the gas grid, which are reliant on heating oil and liquid gas. This will help an estimated 2,000 households across Wales.
Speaking as she visited a foodbank in Wrexham today (10 June) to see the support available to people trying to balance rising energy costs with putting food on the table, Social Justice Minister Jane Hutt said: