AN energy-saving program helping households save more than $300 a year on their bills will be shut down a year early.

The Abbott Government will end the Home Energy Saver Scheme in June next year, with community organisations learning of the surprise move by letter this week.

Kildonan UnitingCare, which delivers the scheme in Victoria, says it is disappointed the decision comes at a time when cost of living is of such concern to most Australians.

The organisation gets about 650 calls a month from people struggling to pay their energy bills, with many about to be cut off.

The scheme teaches families ways to use less energy, gives one-on-one budgeting advice and checks whether relevant rebates and assistance are being claimed.

Suzanna Liw, from Corio, and her four children were racking up bills of $1000 and were being threatened with disconnection before calling the service.

It found she was using inefficient electric portable heaters instead of her cheaper gas heater and visiting a laundromat under the false belief it was cheaper than using the washing machine at home.

It also helped her claim a concession she didn't know she qualified for.

"I just paid the bill. For three years, I didn't know I could get a concession," she said.

"It's been very helpful. They showed me a lot of things."

Ms Liw said hoped to save between $100 and $200 on her next bill.

Kildonan UnitingCare chief executive Stella Avramopoulos said the average yearly saving was almost $340 after a visit.

A spokeswoman for Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews said scrapping the carbon tax and continuing household assistance payments would help low-income families and pensioners with cost of living.

"On average, Australian households will be about $550 better off in 2014-15 than they would have been with the carbon tax in place," she said.

But Ms Avramopoulos said while it would be good if these measures did bring costs down, "in most industries carbon prices are such a small part of the total costs that we'd expect them to be dwarfed by the overall price increases we are seeing across the utility sectors and elsewhere".