The Government will announce further measures to help people with fuel costs, the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications has said.
Eamon Ryan said his department will launch a Fuel Poverty Action Plan within the next two weeks.
Speaking at the launch of the winter 'Reduce Your Use' campaign, he said people can reduce their fuel bills by accessing advice on how to reduce their energy use.
"People are worried about their energy bills...what we're hoping to do, in this, is to provide some certainty to help them through this period, giving real information about the supports that are going to be available, giving some real information on ways that we can use less and save money."
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland CEO William Walsh said the SEAI will be providing information on how people can reduce their energy use in the long term by retrofitting and upgrading the insulation in their home.
He said there are tips on the SEAI website on reducing energy use and a section which shows people how to understand their energy bill and that should empower them to reduce their bills.
Mr Walsh also said that "there's been a big upsurge in people looking to get retrofitting done" and SEAI expects there will be 27,000 homes retrofitted this year, up from 15,500 last year, adding "we have ambitions to do upwards of 37,000 next year".
He said that when it comes to upgrading home insulation, the SEAI has something to suit everyone and there are grants available for shallow retrofitting as well more ambitious deep retrofitting measures.
CEO of the charity ALONE Sean Moynihan said: "We would welcome the Government's interventions around grants and initiatives, but the reality is we want to create a space where older people can reach out and we can create a place where older people and we can actually turn this into practical support for people so nobody's left in a situation where they're not sure what they're entitled to or if they're worried about anything that we can get them practical support on the ground."
As part of the 'Reduce Your Use' campaign, Minister Ryan reminded people to turn the thermostat for room heating down to 19C saying this would save money, but added the aim of the campaign is to keep everybody "warm and well".
Mr Moynihan said that "the reality is for older people, especially those over 75 or with chronic health conditions, if they haven't got enough heating that can affect their health...and unfortunately ... we do have a thing called excess winter deaths, some of which goes down to the cold."
National Spokesperson for the Money Advice and Budgeting Service Karl Cronin said: "Our role is to ensure the public stay well and warm throughout the winter season and are not disconnected by accumulating arrears on their utility bills, and if they have been disconnected to intervene with the utility companies and get the support they need to get them reconnected again."
He said the advice for people to budget a weekly amount for energy bills.
He said if somebody is disconnected because they do not have the money top up a prepay meter the practice is generally to get in touch with the utility company to agree a repayment plan so they can get reconnected.
He said MABS also recommends that people budget for enough every week to pay for energy so they can keep the meter topped up.
