Focus on finance - Are you missing out on support for your energy bills?

In the autumn the government introduced the Energy Bills Support Scheme in response to the recent energy price increases. This scheme aims to provide each household in the UK with £400 towards their energy bills.

Most homes pay their energy bill by direct debit and have been getting around £66 a month taken off their bills or automatically credited to their account. The final payment will be automatically made in March 2023.

From 27 February, customers that pay their their personal electricity to their landlord will also be able to claim £400 towards their energy costs from the governent. We’ll be writing to all affected customers with more information about this over the next few weeks, to provide more information.

If your home is on pre-payment meters for gas or electricity, you should get this support through vouchers in the post, via text message or via email. These vouchers can then be taken to a local PayPoint store or a Post Office to be credited onto a meter.

However, a large number of vouchers issued in October and November have not been redeemed before their expiry date.

If you’re on a pre-payment meter and think you haven’t received a voucher for these months, please contact your energy supplier.

If you have received a voucher, but it has expired, please contact your energy supplier to ask them to re-issue it.

For more information on grants and benefits to help you pay your energy bills visit the Citizens Advice Bureau website.