The Government announced the Energy Bills Support Scheme, a £400 discount on electricity bills for households, in February 2022. The policy was updated in May and July 2022, according to the House of Commons Library briefing that summarises the scheme, its eligibility rules and the reaction to it1.
The scheme was introduced against a steep rise in domestic energy costs. Typical household energy bills increased by 54% in April 2022 and 27% in October 2022, the same briefing records1. The Library notes that lower wholesale prices later led to falls, but that bills at the time of writing remained 43% above their winter 2021/22 levels1.
The wider cost of living backdrop was severe. The annual rate of inflation reached 11.1% in October 2022, a 41-year high, before easing in subsequent months, and it reached the Bank of England's target of 2.0% in May 20241.
"The Government's Energy Bills Support Scheme will provide a £400 discount on electricity bills to help households with the rising cost of energy."
The Library describes the £400 as a discount on electricity bills, delivered under a scheme whose eligibility conditions and frequently asked questions are set out in its briefing1. The same briefing covers the Energy Price Guarantee, the Energy Bills Discount Scheme, the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and Alternative Fuel Payments, which ran alongside it1. The published summary does not give the payment dates, the number of households reached or the total cost of the scheme; those details have not been reported here.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Discount on electricity bills | £400 |
| First announced | February 2022 |
| Updated | May and July 2022 |
| Typical bill rise, April 2022 | 54% |
| Typical bill rise, October 2022 | 27% |
| Inflation peak, October 2022 | 11.1% |
Why it matters for households
The £400 was a fixed discount on electricity, so its value did not change with a household's usage or tariff. For a home trying to hold down what it pays for power, a one-off credit of that size offsets a set share of a year's electricity cost rather than changing the underlying price per unit. The price cap sets the unit rates and standing charges that determine the rest of the bill, and the policy costs and levies built into those rates are separate from the discount. Because the scheme was a grant rather than a change to the market, it did not alter how much energy a household needs or where that energy comes from, which is the part of energy independence that persists after a temporary credit ends. Households in Northern Ireland were covered by separate arrangements, and help with bills in Scotland, Wales and England is administered differently in each nation.
What happens next
The scheme is closed. The Library briefing records the policy as first announced in February 2022 and updated in May and July 2022, and lists it among the government support schemes for energy bills that have since been replaced or wound down1. No further payment dates under the Energy Bills Support Scheme are given in the published briefing1.
Sources1 cited
- Cost of living and inflation, commonslibrary.parliament.uk