Chancellor announcement: Households to get energy bill discounts of £400.
The Energy Bills Support Scheme will end on 31 March 2023. The government has not extended this support. All UK households will get a grant which will reduce energy bills by £400 over six months, from October 2022. On the 26 May 2022 the then Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced various grants for households and families to help with the cost of living crisis. What is the grant and how can it help with my energy bills? In February 2022, the Chancellor had previously announced that all households will be eligible for a £200 payment, which would have to be paid back in instalments over five years. However, since then the Chancellor has now doubled the grant to £400 and it will not need to be paid back. The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) is a non-repayable discount of £400 from the government, that every household with a domestic electricity connection will receive from October 2022 until 31 March 2023, to help offset the higher energy bills. The discount will be automatically done, so there is no need to apply. We’re currently in contact with the government to get more information about their £400 energy bill discount scheme and the other measures announced by the Chancellor. The government has confirmed (21 Sept) that the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS) will be extended to cover people such as park home or house boat residents and those tenants whose landlords pay for their energy via a commercial contract. The government will introduce legislation to make sure landlords pass the EBSS discount on to tenants who pay all-inclusive bills. No action is required from customers. You do not need to apply, the EBSS will be automatically applied to your account. If you receive a message and are unsure if it's genuine please visit our staying safe online web page. Customers will receive the EBSS payment in six instalments from October 2022 until March 2023. The cost of living package. This government package was announced as a way to help with high inflation and rising energy bills. It will be partly-funded by a 25% windfall tax on gas and oil company profits. The government's cost of living package will include:
Universal support will increase to £400. The requirement to repay it over five years has been scrapped.
A £650 payment will be made to more than eight million low-income households who receive Universal Credit, tax credits, pension credit and other means-tested benefits. The first payment of £326 will start appearing in people's bank accounts from 14 July. To be eligible for the first instalment, people must have started a successful benefits claim by 25 May. The government said (4 Oct) that the second payment of £324 will arrive in accounts between 8 and 23 November 2022.
Living payment of £300 for pensioner households paid in November/December alongside the Winter Fuel Payment.
A £150 disability cost of living payment to individuals in receipt of extra cost disability benefits, paid by September.
For more information. We will update this page when we have more information on how the scheme affects customers. If you're struggling to pay, please visit our help page to find out more about how we can support you. You can also find tried and tested energy saving tips over on our energy saving page.