Some people still awaiting help to heat their homes this winter have been told they will start receiving their money within weeks. Thousands of people in the UK who live off-grid or use alternative heating methods are due to receive a £200 payment.
The support scheme applies to those on non-mains gas who heat their homes by alternative methods such as heating oil, LPG boiler, and biomass boiler. These groups were due to receive a £100 lump sum from the UK government after it pledged to match the support given to customers connected to mains gas, who are receiving £400 off their energy bills over six months. This was later doubled to £200.
Mains-gas customers received their first monthly payment or discount in October - the scheme is being applied differently depending on your energy supplier and how you pay your bills - and you can find out more about that here. To get all the latest money-saving news straight to your inbox twice a week sign up here.
But despite that scheme running for several months already, customers using alternative methods or living off-grid have yet to receive their money. In an update shared before Christmas Martin Lewis said he had been told the payment would not come until the new year.
But the government has now confirmed these customers will finally start receiving their money which is set to arrive in the coming weeks. Energy minister Graham Stuart said the money will land "as soon as possible after February 1." He said the “vast majority” of alternative fuel customers who have an electricity account will not have to take any action to receive the one-off payment of £200 as it will be made automatically. But he said there would be a “small number of customers who are unable to receive the funding automatically" but that there would be a route for them to apply.
“There will be a small number of customers who are unable to receive the funding automatically, for instance households without a direct relationship with an electricity supplier, and the government will ensure there is a route for those households to apply for and receive the £200 support," he said. "This support will be delivered in Great Britain as soon as possible after February 1."
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