Apply for energy bill support if you do not get it automatically

Households may be eligible for funding from the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding scheme or the Alternative Fuel Payment.

Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding

There is an £400 non-repayable energy bill discount available to households through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

For most households this discount is applied automatically by your energy provider in six instalments between October 2022 and March 2023, but an alternative scheme has been set up for households who receive their electricity in a different way.

This will be a one-off non-repayable payment of £400 per household.

Who is eligible

You can claim the one-off £400 payment if your household meets the following criteria:

• Your household has not already received an automatic Energy Bill Support Scheme payment in full or in part
• The property you are claiming for is your sole or main residence
• You are responsible for paying the energy bills for the property, including as part of a service charge, rent or other arrangement between 1 October 2022 and 31 March 2023
• The property is used for domestic purposes

You may be eligible to apply if your main home is:

• A residential park home
• On a boat on a permanent residential mooring
• On a permanent Gypsy and Traveller site
• Part of a heat network without an electricity meter
• In social or private rented accommodation which has a business energy connection or a communal electricity supply
• Off the mains electricity or gas grid
• In a care home or assisted living facility and you pay for some or all of your care (directly or through loss of pension or other benefits)
• In a separate domestic home within a non-domestic property (such as a farmhouse or a flat above a shop)

How to apply

You can make your claim anytime until Wednesday 31 May 2023.

If you need help to apply, contact the helpline team by:

• Email: alternativefunding@ebss.beis.gov.uk
• Telephone: 0808 175 3287 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm)

Alternative Fuel Payment

The Alternative Fuels Payment (AFP) is a one-off £200 payment to households that use alternatives to mains gas for heating, such as:

• Bottled gas
• Heating oil
• Liquified petroleum gas (LPG)
• Coal
• Wood

Most homes will receive this as a credit on their electricity bill from February 2023.

If you do not automatically receive this payment, you may need to apply through the AFP Alternative Fund.

If you need help to apply, contact the team by:

• Telephone: 0808 175 3943 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm)