OVO: A new blueprint for delivering support in the utilities sector
See how OVO uses Lightning Reach to deliver £7.6m in direct support, simplify referrals and help customers access financial support in just 1-2 days.
Household Energy Payments
Seamless & proven way to deliver your payments, quickly
Our tried and tested solution is already being used by councils across the UK. We are ready to help you deliver household energy payments by January.
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Addressing financial hardship beyond a one-off payment.
£100 won’t resolve wider financial pressures, but councils can use this payment as a jump-off point for more impact. Lightning Reach connects residents to over 2,500 additional grants, benefits and support schemes through the same journey, helping councils maximise the longer term impact of each intervention.
Less admin. More impact.
With councils expected to begin distributing the £100 Household Energy Payment from January 2027, alongside the additional discretionary fund, we're expecting even more work and admin to reach teams who are already stretched. Lightning Reach offers an established digital application and assessment platform that could help councils mobilise discretionary support quickly, adapting eligibility processes once the rules are confirmed.
Reduce admin
Streamline applications, collect evidence and run eligibility checks through one connected system.
Deliver support, faster
Issue payments and vouchers more efficiently through built-in fulfilment and payment tools.
Find additional support
Connect residents to additional grants, benefits and support schemes after they apply.
Real time reporting
Reduce admin with real-time data and automated reports that make it easier to evidence outcomes.
Supporting councils across the UK
Explore case studies of how local authorities are making support easier to access and easier to deliver.
Lambeth Council: Transforming access to housing and financial support
Discover how Lambeth Council is transforming access to housing and financial support with Lightning Reach. Learn how Lambeth Council is improving resident support.
RAF Benevolent Fund: Expanding access to financial support
We spoke with our Support Partner the RAF Benevolent Fund about their experiences using the Lightning Reach portal. The RAF Benevolent Fund started to use the portal in summer 2022 to administer their grants to help their service users access support available from their charity quickly and easily.Tell us about your charity and who you supportFor more than 100 years, the RAF Benevolent Fund has been supporting members of our RAF Family. We provide lifelong support to serving and ex-serving RAF p
ABTA LifeLine: Making financial support easier and safer to access
We spoke to our support partner ABTA LifeLine about how they have found working with Lightning Reach and using the portal. As a smaller charity established to support people who work or have worked in the travel industry, we heard from their Director Trudie Clements about how they have benefited from being on the portal.Tell us a little about your charity, who you support and what support you offer?ABTA LifeLine is ABTA’s (The Travel Association’s) charity for past and present employees of ABTA.
Racing Welfare: Making grant applications faster and easier
We spoke to our support partner Racing Welfare about how they have found working with Lightning Reach and using the portal. Racing Welfare provide support to the workforce of the British horseracing industry and have several of their grants available for people to apply for on the Lightning Reach portal. We heard from Regional Welfare Manager Brian Watson about how they have benefited from being on the portal.Briefly tell us a little about your charity. Who do you support and how do you support
TSB: Helping customers discover and access financial support
We spoke to our partner TSB about how they have found working with Lightning Reach and using the portal. We heard from Partnerships & Open Banking Lead Adam Betteridge about how they have worked with Lighting Reach in delivering additional vital support to their customers.Briefly tell us a little about your company.TSB is a retail bank with a heritage stretching back to the start of the savings bank movement 200 years ago, that provides full banking services to more than five million customers.
PA Housing: Transforming how residents access financial support
We spoke to our support partner PA Housing and heard from members of their Tenancy Sustainment Team about their experience working with Lightning Reach and how they have benefited from being on the portal. PA Housing is a registered provider of social housing offering more than 23,000 homes across the Midlands, London and the South East. PA Housing offers a support fund which residents can apply for through the Lightning Reach portal, and also assist tenants in applying for other support they ma
Royal British Legion: Reaching more people with faster financial support
Digital applications through the Lightning Reach portal have transformed Royal British Legion's (RBL) ability to provide support to individuals quicker and more efficiently, speeding up their processes and reaching a broader range of beneficiaries amidst the cost of living crisis.Increasing application numbers via the Lightning Reach portalRBL created their cost of living grants to help veterans, armed forces personnel and their families pay for everyday essential costs such as energy bills, foo
Royal Naval Benevolent Trust: Delivering support faster and reaching more people
Discover how the Royal Naval Benevolent Fund innovated their digital applications with Lightning Reach, streamlining support for RNBT beneficiaries.
Teaching Staff Trust: Expanding access to financial support for education staff
Since 2021, Teaching Staff Trust (TST) has partnered with Lightning Reach to streamline and enhance its financial support application process. TST provides vital assistance to individuals working, or who have worked, in various education roles, including nursery staff and teaching assistants.Improving efficiency with seamless application managementBefore partnering with Lightning Reach, TST faced challenges in securely accessing applicants’ bank statements, leading to delays in processing applic
Link Housing: Transforming engagement with hard-to-reach tenants
Discover how Link Housing transformed tenant engagement in social housing with Lightning Reach. Learn how social housing tenants found support independently.
The Salespeople’s Charity: Transforming grant-making for a small charity
We spoke to grant-making charity, The Salespeople's Charity, about how Lightning Reach has enabled them to triple their average grant awarded.
YES Energy Solutions: Helping more households access energy support
Discover how Lightning Reach & YES Energy Solutions revolutionised energy support, offering a faster, smarter digital pathway for energy support.
Plus Dane: Helping tenants access support through data-driven outreach
Discover how Plus Dane Housing empowers tenant support with data-driven outreach, ensuring tenant support is accessible and efficient.
Sunderland Care and Support: Transforming how frontline teams find financial support
Discover how Sunderland City Council's Lightning Reach to save time and connect residents to more financial help.
Chemical Engineers Benevolent Fund: Transforming grant delivery from hours to minutes
Discover how the Chemical Engineers Benevolent Fund revolutionised grant delivery with Lightning Deliver. Elevate your grant delivery process today!
Sunderland City Council: Helping more residents access financial support
Discover how Sunderland City Council and Lightning Reach are working together to transform access to financial support.
CDER Group: Strengthening customer support with measurable social value
Discover how CDER improved their social value reporting and customer support with Lightning Reach.
South Tyneside Council: Making financial support faster and easier to access
Discover how South Tyneside Council improved access to council financial support, accelerated crisis assistance, and connected residents to wider help with Lightning Reach.
How it works
01
Residents apply
Residents share their details through your council's branded application and submit supporting evidence digitally. Built-in ID verification and Open Banking checks reduce manual work for your team from the start.
02
Assess & decide
Eligibility screening using our proprietary automation tools. Review applications and verified evidence in one system. Make consistent, defensible decisions faster, with a full audit trail behind every outcome.
03
Deliver support
Issue £100 payments via payment files, cash cards or vouchers, providing you the ability to track every outcome in real time. Live reporting dashboards fulfilling regulatory requirements and demonstrating impact.
Features built for connected support
Lightning Reach brings together the tools and workflows your team needs to deliver support more effectively.
Features
Helping local authorities reach more people, faster
93%
Self-service application rate
£25 million+
Additional funding awarded
400,000+
People registered on the platform
The simpler way to deliver support at scale
Discover how Lightning Reach can help your council streamline Crisis and Resilience Fund delivery, reduce manual processes and connect residents to wider support.
Get in touch
Support worker account
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Plus Dane: Helping tenants access support through data-driven outreach
Sunderland Care and Support: Transforming how frontline teams find financial support
Local authorities
Housing associations
Utilities
Charities
Homelessness pathway
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Lambeth Council: Transforming access to housing and financial support
Local authorities
Housing associations
Utilities
Charities
Crisis & Resilience Fund
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Sunderland City Council: Helping more residents access financial support
South Tyneside Council: Making financial support faster and easier to access
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Budget Checker
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Link Housing: Transforming engagement with hard-to-reach tenants
South Tyneside Council: Making financial support faster and easier to access
Utilities
Local authorities
Housing associations
Charities
Partner Hub
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OVO: A new blueprint for delivering support in the utilities sector
Utilities
Local authorities
Housing associations
Charities