Details of the £400 payment under the Energy Bill Support Scheme have been published.
All households in England, Scotland and Wales will get the money this autumn as a payment designed to help with the rising cost of energy.
The money will be paid in six instalments, with discounts applied to energy bills between October 2022 and March 2023.
The Energy Bill Support Scheme will see £66 a month knocked off household their energy bills in October and November, with discounts of £67 a month applied between December 2022 and March 2023.
The mechanism for receiving the money will depend on how you pay your energy bills.
Energy customers with a domestic electricity meter, who pay their bills via monthly or quarterly direct debit, or by card will receive an automatic deduction off their bills.
Households with a smart prepayment device will receive an automatic monthly top-up to their account, which means they will need to add less credit to their meters for the energy they use.
However, those customers with older non-smart prepayment meters will get an energy bill discount voucher in the first week of each month, via text message, email or post.
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These vouchers can be redeemed at the usual top-up points, including Post Offices.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:
“While no government can control global gas prices, we have a responsibility to step in where we can and this significant £400 discount on energy bills we’re providing will go some way to help millions of families over the colder months.”
While the discounts will be welcomed in light of rising energy prices, the latest forecasts suggest energy bills could rise further still.
Energy regulator OFGEM has warned the energy price cap is likely to rise by £800 in October to £2,800 a year.
Industry analyst Cornwall Insight is forecasting the typical domestic customer could pay £3,244 a year from October, rising again in January to £3,363 a year.
The £400 energy bill discount is not means-tested, so every household will receive the payment.
Lord Callanan, Minister for Business and Energy, said:
“This is just one small part of a wider package of measures. The problem is that there are many people who are not on means-tested benefits or just above benefit level who are still really struggling with really high bills, so we thought this was the fairest and easiest way to distribute the money.”
