The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a package of support to help domestic energy customers with the costs of rising energy bills on 3 February 2022, which included the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS)1. Under the scheme as first set out, the government would provide funding to all energy suppliers for them to pass a £200 reduction on to their domestic electricity customers, recovered through electricity bills over five years starting from 2023-20241.
The scheme was later changed. As the government announced on 26 May, domestic electricity customers would receive £400 of support with their energy bills, made as a grant1. Energy suppliers will deliver this support to households in Great Britain with a domestic electricity contract in instalments over six months from October 20221. The government said it was urgently working to ensure that the people of Northern Ireland receive the equivalent support as soon as possible1.
Suppliers will be required to provide each eligible domestic electricity customer they serve on the Qualifying Date, the first of each EBSS delivery month, with either £66 or £67 a month during each month that they are eligible1. How a household receives the grant depends on its payment method1.
| Payment method | How the grant is delivered |
|---|---|
| Direct Debit | Reduction to the monthly Direct Debit amount collected, or a refund to the bank account following collection; Direct Debit dates remain unchanged1 |
| Standard credit (pay on receipt) | Credit to the account in the first week of each delivery month, appearing as if the customer had made a payment1 |
| Payment card | Credit to the account in the first week of each delivery month, as if the customer had made a payment1 |
| Smart prepayment meter | Remotely applied as credit in the first week of each delivery month1 |
| Traditional prepayment meter | Vouchers or Special Action Messages (SAMs) redeemable by the customer, from the first week of each delivery month; vouchers can be issued via SMS text, email or post1 |
A technical consultation on the scheme ran from 9:30am on 11 April 2022 to 11:45pm on 23 May 2022 and has concluded1. It received 233 responses from a range of organisations, including large and small suppliers, Distribution Network Operators, consumer groups and interested charities, and the government held stakeholder sessions with more than 93 interested parties1. The government response was published on 29 July 2022, accompanied by the Draft Direction made by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy1.
"The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) aims to support households with their energy bills through winter 2022 to 2023."
Why it matters for households
The EBSS is a universal measure, not a means-tested one: it applies to domestic electricity customers in Great Britain with a contract, whatever their payment method, and most customers were expected to receive the reduction automatically1. For a household, the practical effect is a fixed monthly credit against electricity across the six delivery months rather than a change to the standing charges or unit rates that set the underlying bill. The £400 grant is not repaid, but the £200 reduction described at announcement was to be recovered through electricity bills over five years from 2023-2024, so the two versions of the scheme differ in both amount and treatment1. Households on traditional prepayment meters face a different route to the money, through vouchers or Special Action Messages that must be redeemed, rather than an automatic credit1. Northern Ireland households are not covered by the delivery arrangements set out for Great Britain, and the government said only that it was working to provide equivalent support as soon as possible1. The scheme sits alongside the wider landscape of grants and schemes for household energy costs, including supplier-delivered obligations such as ECO4.
What happens next
The government said it would work with Ofgem and suppliers on guidance ahead of implementation of the scheme from October 20221. A final version of the Secretary of State Direction to suppliers will be issued ahead of scheme launch1. The government and suppliers said they would provide further information for customers ahead of scheme delivery before the autumn1.