- UK government confirms all households in Northern Ireland will receive a single payment totalling £600 to help with their energy bills, with payments starting in January
- households across Great Britain that use alternative fuels like heating oil will receive a £200 payment this winter
- 900,000 households in England, Scotland and Wales without a direct relationship to an energy supplier - such as care home or park home residents - will be able to apply online for £400 of non-repayable help with their fuel bills
Support with winter energy bills is on the way for millions more households across the United Kingdom, as the government today confirms details of a single £600 payment to help households in Northern Ireland with their heating and electricity bills, as well as details of how those using alternative fuels and households without a direct relationship to an energy supplier will receive help with their energy costs.
These schemes augment the cost-of-living package of assistance the government has in place to help reduce energy bills for households across the United Kingdom. This includes the Energy Price Guarantee which saves a typical household in Great Britain around £900 this winter and an equivalent level of support in Northern Ireland.
Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said:
Putin's illegal war has caused global energy prices to soar, but we are continuing to work hard and urgently to get help to households across the UK, and this update provides people with more certainty on when and how we will deliver help with fuel bills.
We're already limiting the amount suppliers can charge consumers for their energy through the Energy Price Guarantee, which will continue to help consumers through to March 2024. We've all seen and felt the temperature dropping recently, so today's updates will help millions worry less about their energy and heating bills this winter.
Energy bills support for households in Northern Ireland
All households in Northern Ireland will receive a single, one-off £600 payment to help with their bills. Payments will start in January 2023. This will be made up of £400 of support under the government's Energy Bills Support Scheme Northern Ireland (EBSS NI), and £200 of support under the Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) scheme, which will go to all households in Northern Ireland irrespective of how they heat their home.
The UK government has confirmed today it will fund electricity companies for this payment to ensure they're administered quickly, and that suppliers should start to make payments to customers in January. This means most NI consumers will receive the full amount of energy bills support before households in Great Britain, whilst still receiving the same level of support this winter.
All households in Northern Ireland will receive the support in a single payment to ensure the full benefit of the scheme is felt as soon as possible. The Northern Ireland scheme differs in this respect from EBSS in Great Britain to account for the particular nature of the NI energy market.
Administered by energy suppliers, customers who pay by Direct Debit will receive the £600 into their bank account directly. Other customers will be sent a voucher to redeem the £600 payment, with
