Every household will get a £400 discount on energy bills, as Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the measure will replace the now shelved plan to give households a £200 loan to help with the cost of living crisis.
The Energy Bills Support Scheme discount will be funded in part by a £5bn windfall tax on oil and gas companies. The Chancellor had announced all households will get a £200 "rebate" in October, which they could not refuse and would have to pay back in future bills, but he has now cancelled that and replaced it with the £400 discount for all households, which they do not have to repay.
The Chancellor acknowledged that high inflation is causing “acute distress” for people in the country, telling MPs: “I know they are worried, I know people are struggling.”
Read more : £300 payment for pensioners - how it'll be paid and who gets it
He said the Government “will not sit idly by while there is a risk that some in our country might be set so far back they might never recover”.
The way you get the £400 discount depends on the way you pay your energy bills. Those who pay by direct debit will get theirs credited to their energy bill account. But if you use a pre-pay meter that you top up to pay as you go, you'll get the discount applied in a different way.
I use a pre-payment energy meter to top up electric or gas - Do I get the £400 discount?
Yes. Every household in Britain will get a £400 discount under the Energy Bills Support Scheme, including those who pay for energy using pay as you go or pre-payment meters. Those on the meters, which customers top up, will have the discount applied to their meter or get a voucher.
When will pre-payment customers get the £400 discount?
The Energy Bills Support scheme will begin in October 2022. The energy cap is set to rise in the same month.
Will I get the £400 discount all at once?
No. The Treasury says the £400 discount will be spread " over six months from October".
WIll I have to pay the £400 discount back?
No. The Chancellor scrapped the £200 "rebate" loan, which households would have had to repay in future bills. The £400 is a discount, you do not repay it.
Read next:
