All households with a domestic electricity connection in Great Britain are eligible for the £400 discount.

How will I get the discount?

  • The £400 discount will be paid, by suppliers, to consumers over 6 months with payments starting from October 2022
  • Households will see a discount of £66 applied to their energy bills in October and November, rising to £67 each month from December through to March 2023
  • The discount will be provided on a monthly basis regardless of whether consumers pay monthly, quarterly or have an associated payment card
  • Households will never be asked for their bank details, and those with a domestic electricity connection will not need to apply
  • There is no need to contact your supplier as all domestic electricity customers will be automatically eligible. Electricity bill payers should enquire with their supplier if they have not received their first instalment by the end of October.
  • Direct debit customers will get the discount automatically as a reduction to the monthly direct debit, or as a refund to the customer’s bank account following direct debit collection during each month of delivery
  • Standard credit customers and payment card customers will see the discount automatically applied as a credit to standard credit customers’ accounts in the first week of each month of delivery, with the credit appearing as it would if the customer had made a payment
  • Smart prepayment meter customers will see the discount credited directly to their smart prepayment meters in the first week of each month of delivery
  • Traditional prepayment meter customers will be provided with redeemable vouchers or Special Action Messages (SAMs) from the first week of each month, issued via SMS text, email or post. These customers will need to take action to redeem these at their usual top-up point and should make sure that their provider has up to date contact details for them so as to receive the vouchers and instructions.

 

I pay for energy in my rent – how do I make sure my landlord passes on the reduction?

  • Landlords who have a domestic electricity contract with a licensed electricity supplier and then resell the electricity to their tenants based on energy usage must comply with the maximum resale price rules.
  • the maximum resale price for electricity is currently set as the same price as that paid by the person reselling it. Under these circumstances, we expect landlords to pass on the discount received to each tenant
  • landlords with a domestic electricity connection who charge ‘all inclusive’ rent, such as the case for many student houses, where a fixed cost for energy costs are included in their rental charges, should also be passing on the discounted payments to tenants

 

Will I get the discount if I live in a park home, houseboat or am an energy consumer living off the grid?

  • the government has confirmed that further funding will be available to provide equivalent support of £400 for energy bills for the 1% of households don’t have a domestic electricity connection. Details of this will be published in the autumn.

 

What happens if I switch energy suppliers or my household circumstances change?

  • Electricity suppliers will apply the discount to bills from October 2022. This will be done by meter points, so it won’t matter if you switch supplier
  • the Scheme will now provide 6 monthly payments based on 6 qualifying dates than a single date in October. This allows new eligible households to benefit from the relevant portion of the total £400 as there will be multiple qualifying dates

 

What if my energy supplier goes bust or I change my payment method?

  • Government will ensure that customers who switch payment methods, or whose energy suppliers fail, will not be penalised

 

How will it work for customers in arrears / in debt?

  • All households with a domestic electricity connection in Great Britain are eligible for the £400 discount

 

If you would like advice on this, or any other subject, please get in touch with Maldon & District Citizens Advice. See our new website https://maldoncitizensadvice.org.uk for details, or by ringing 01621 875774

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Lucy Bettley