Here in the UK if the temperature hits zero or if the weather boffins forecast that temps will be zero or below for 7 days on the trot those in need receive a £25 payment to help with their fuel bills.
By those in need I mean pensioners of which your truly is one.
Thus far I’ve received 2x£25 payments and while the payments are handy I’m not really “needy”.
Do other countries citizens (US/Canada) where temps fall waaaaay below zero get similar payments?
We have something similar, but it’s not dependant on the temp, it’s where you live. When you live in a northern community (not sure what exactly constitutes ‘northern’, but I’d estimate north of Edmonton, Alberta) you get what’s called ‘Northern Living Allowance’ at tax time. It’s a once a year tax credit based on your income, etc. When I lived up north it was about $2500 a year. It’s apparently given because things are more expensive in northern communities, especially in the winter.
Most winter days here the temps fall below 32F/0C. I know there are “heat assistance” programs in Illinois (and presumably other US states in similar situations) for people with low income; you have to apply and they take into account your income level, type of heating used, and so forth. I don’t know if there’s any rule as straightforward as the one you deal with.
There’s also a state law in Illinois that prevents natural gas companies from shutting off service for lack of payment during winter, but I think that time period ends at the beginning of April and as anyone around here knows, it can still get rather cold and even snow during that month.
Zero Celcius? As in t-shirt weather? 
Here where it actually gets cold (-20F/-30C) we have fuel assistance for people who can’t afford to pay for heat. Not sure how one would apply for it.
I’ll have you know we’ve had temps of -11C here in Merrie England.
And it just aint bloody funny
Eccles, the cat, refuses to go outdoors, he’s taken to using his litter tray for the first time in ages
Please note that fuel assistance helps buts doesn’t cover much of the heating bill in the United States. Something is better than nothing when you don’t have the money to heat the house. There are also some repair programs for a few low income people that own a house. They may insulate the house for these people or replace a furnace. All these programs are tied into income level, number of people in the house and disability status.
In addition to local government programs (sometimes cities and counties have things like that) some companies around the US have programs to subsidize heating for low-income homes. (I only know about the places I’ve lived, but both of these seem pretty common to me.) For example, Puget Sound Energy has a program where you can add $15.00 to your bill to donate to their fund.
I’m not aware of any “cash for cold” type programs, but there’s a program called HEAP in Cuyahoga County (Cleveland area) and Summit County (Akron area) which does what Harmonious Discord describes.
Y’know, all things considered there can’t be many places on the planet which has such extremes of temperature like the US does.
I may be wrong but…
Canada?
I’ve been told that the climate here in Minnesota/close to center North America, is similar to the Siberian climate. I’m seeing forecasts for next week with a HIGH of -20°C, and it will probably be 10 degrees colder then that up at the Canadian borders. Get your long underwear out, Chicago, it’s coming your way.
‘extremes of temperature’, not ‘extremes of cold’
…unless there’s an area in Canada that can reach Phoenix temps.
Highest recorded temperature in Canada was 113 ° F (45 C), at Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan in 1937.
Temperatures of 100 ° F are not at all uncommon in the summer in Saskatchewan, while temperatures in the - 30 ° F are not uncommon in the winter, for extremes of temperature of well over 100 ° F in one province alone. Does Phoenix have that sort of range?
And we get temps of -40ºC here in Havre, Montana, and they can easily stick around for a week or so. It’s even colder once you factor in wind chill. And it often gets up to 100ºF in the summer, but not usually for more than a day (it’d be down to the 60s that evening).
I’ll add from my experience that summers in southern Ontario can get temps of at least 100F–the highest I recall during the time I lived there was 102F, not including the humidex (which, naturally, made it feel hotter). Winter in southern Ontario wasn’t quite as cold as in Saskatchewan, but we did have a couple of very cold nights in my memory–one as low as -47, but that was unusual. Still, I’d guess that southern Ontario’s range of extremes is also over 100F.
Oh, and for the OP: No payments such as you describe anywhere I’ve lived in Canada.