Millions of energy customers have been told exactly how they will benefit from the new Energy Bills Support Scheme that has been announced by the UK Government in a bid to ease the cost of living crisis. British Gas has written to more than nine million households explaining how the £400 will be paid in instalments as direct payments into their bank account.
The discount is set to be paid in six instalments from October - with £66 monthly payments for the first two months, followed by an increase to £67 in December, January, February and March.
The UK government recently announced the new Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS), which will give around 29 million households in the UK a £400 discount off their energy bills from October.
Read more: Most of us think bills are going up by £487 in October - in fact it is £1,600
If your electricity bills are less than £66/£67 a month, you’ll still get the same amount. British Gas has also said that customers can carry on using the discount to pay for your electricity after March 2023, until all the £400 is used up.
A letter to customers explained: "For direct debit customers, we'll send the discount straight to your bank each month - like a refund - once your Direct Debit has gone through. For example, if your direct debit is £100 a month, you'd pay as normal. Then a few days later, £67 will be paid in to your bank account.
"If your direct debit is less than £67 a month, say £50 for example, £50 will be refunded to your bank account and the remaining £17 will be applied to your energy account."
The plan for the instalments:
EDF customers who pay by direct debit will be refunded the discount after a successful bill payment is made, too.
It comes as Brits face having to fork out over £4,000 on energy bills by next year, according to fresh analysis and warnings.
Who's eligible?
- Direct Debit customers will receive the Energy Bill discount automatically as a deduction to the monthly Direct Debit amount collected, 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 Energy Bill discount automatically applied as a credit to standard credit customers’ accounts in the first week of each month of EBSS delivery, with the credit appearing as it would if the customer had made a payment
- smart prepayment meter customers will see the Energy Bill 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 EBSS Energy Bill discount vouchers or Special Action Messages (SAMs) from the first week of each month, issued via SMS text, email or post. Customers will need to redeem these at their usual top-up point
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nadhim Zahawi, said: "We know that people are struggling with rising energy prices which is why we have taken action with support over the winter months to help ease the pressure on household budgets.
"This £400 off energy bills is part of our £37 billion of help for households, including 8 million of the most vulnerable households receiving £1,200 of direct support to help with the cost of living.
"We know there are tough times ahead and we will continue to do everything in our power to help people."
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