The Government announced earlier this year that, as part of their efforts to combat the Cost of Living crisis, all households will receive £400 off their energy bills this winter. This discount will be applied across a 6-month period, starting in October 2022. This does not need to be paid back to the Government and should be considered similar to a grant. Read on for more.
What Is The Support On Offer?
The discount is exactly what it sounds like: a discount on your bills. This means that you will not receive any money in your bank account, but instead will have to pay less to the energy companies on your bills. This fact has been misrepresented several times in the media, so it is important to state the true situation.
The discounts are to be applied across a 6-month period this winter, and the £400 total discount is split across these months. The first two discounts applied will be £66, in October and November 2022. The next four monthly bills, from December 2022 to March 2023 inclusive, will all be discounted by £67. This will be done automatically by your energy supplier, and you do not have to do anything to get this discount.
If you are contacted by anybody asking you to click a link (or similar) to access the discount, this is a scam and should NOT be trusted. You can report messages you think are scams on the Government website.
How Will I Receive The Discount?
The way the discount will be applied differs depending on how you pay for your electricity bills.
If you pay by direct debit:
You will receive the discount in one of two ways. Either as a reduction to your monthly bill, or as a refund to your account. This will be after your normal monthly bill has been paid.
If you pay using a credit card:
The discount will be applied as a credit to your account, as if you had made a payment. This will occur at the start of the month.
If you pay using a smart prepayment meter:
The discount will be credited to the meter in the first week of the month.
If you pay using a traditional prepayment meter:
The discount will be applied in the first week of the month in one of two ways. Either as an automatic credit when you top your meter up, or as redeemable vouchers. You will receive these vouchers in either the post, by email or by SMS text messages. The method will be confirmed by your energy supplier before you receive the first discount. If you receive vouchers, you will need to redeem them at a top up point. You will be informed of where this is by your energy supplier.
If you pay for your electricity as part of your rent:
Your landlord will receive the discount and pass it on to you as a reduced rent. If you pay an all-inclusive rent (where your bills are part of a fixed price payment), you should talk to your landlord about the next steps so you can receive the discount in a way that works for your contract.
If you have not received your first discount by the end of October 2022, you should contact your electricity supplier for more information and guidance.
How Will The Process Work?
All households are eligible for the discounts, regardless of situation. If you change your address, energy supplier, tariff, payment method, or any similar issue, the discount will continue to apply to your next bill this winter. Obviously, if you change any of the above after March 2022, the discount will not apply as it has ended, just as if none of the above changed.
If your electricity and gas supplies come from two different companies, the Energy Bills Support will be paid through your electricity supplier. The company you pay your electricity bills to is responsible for giving you the discount. If your electricity and gas supplies come from the same company, the payment will obviously come from them.
Each energy company is issuing the discount in different ways. The Government expects all energy companies to contact their customers about how the discount will be applied, and you should either have received this, or will by the end of October. If you do not receive this information, you should contact your energy supplier as soon as possible.
More Information
To read the full Government guidance on the Energy Bills Support Scheme discount, visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/getting-the-energy-bills-support-scheme-discount
If you have any questions about this, or want to know more, email info@buds.org.uk or visit https://buds.org.uk/contact-buds/