Households in England in Council Tax bands A to D will receive a £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate in April 2022, under measures announced alongside the April 2022 energy price cap rise. The rebate does not need to be repaid1.
The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) set out the measure among a raft of government support, published after Ofgem confirmed a 54% rise in the energy price cap from April 2022, from £1,277 set in October 2021 to £1,9711. The CIPHE said the increase amounts to an average of £695 in energy price hikes for the 22 million households on a variable rate1.
The rebate sits alongside other measures. A £200 discount on domestic electricity bills in England, Scotland and Wales follows in October 2022 and is repayable, recovered automatically in equal £40 payments over five years. Discretionary funding of £144 million is provided for vulnerable people and low income individuals who do not pay Council Tax, or who pay it for properties in bands E to H. Devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are expected to receive around £565 million of Barnett funding as a result of the Council Tax Energy Rebate in England, and £150 million is provided to aid energy customers in Northern Ireland1.
| Measure | Detail | Repayable |
|---|---|---|
| Council Tax Energy Rebate, England bands A to D | £150, April 2022 | No1 |
| Electricity bill discount, England, Scotland and Wales | £200, October 2022 | Yes, in £40 instalments over five years1 |
| Discretionary funding | £144 million | Not stated1 |
| Northern Ireland support | £150 million | Not stated1 |
| Warm Home Discount | Rising from £140 to £150 from October, eligibility expanded by almost a third to three million households | Not stated1 |
The CIPHE reported that the government's plans would provide around 28 million households with £350 towards energy bills, and that there would be no cut on VAT on energy2. It also reported estimates that fuel poverty before the October 2021 price cap increase stood at around 13% of households in England, 25% in Scotland, 12% in Wales and 18% in Northern Ireland, with no official statistics covering the pandemic period2.
"In April 2022, households in England in Council Tax bands A-D will receive a £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate. This will not need to be repaid."
Why it matters for households
The rebate is a one-off payment tied to Council Tax banding rather than to energy use, so it reaches homes in bands A to D regardless of how much gas or electricity they consume. It does not reduce a bill or a debt; it is a cash sum that does not have to be returned1. The £200 electricity discount arriving in October works differently, because it is recovered through later payments, so the net effect on a household's costs is spread over five years1.
The CIPHE noted that heating and hot water account for over 50% of average fuel bills, and that the cost of gas had risen four-fold within a year, with 85% of UK homes heated using gas and 40% of electricity generated via gas1. For a household's energy independence, the distinction between a rebate and a reduction in consumption is the practical one: the £150 offsets a fixed sum, while the size of future bills continues to depend on the property's efficiency and how it is heated. The CIPHE pointed to loft insulation, draught-proofing and heating controls as areas affecting how much heat a home retains, and noted that free grants are available from some energy suppliers under the Energy Company Obligation1. Households can check which benefits qualify for energy grants and how supplier-funded grants under the Energy Company Obligation work, alongside council and local authority energy grants and the wider home energy grants and schemes in the UK, including home energy grants in England. Support for households in debt or hardship is covered under crisis funds and hardship grants, and the relationship between schemes and household energy independence is set out separately.
What happens next
The rebate is dated to April 20221. The £200 electricity discount follows in October 2022, with repayment in equal £40 instalments over five years1. The Warm Home Discount rises from £140 to £150 from October, with eligibility expanded by almost a third to three million vulnerable households1. The CIPHE reported estimates of further energy price cap rises in October 20222.
Sources2 cited
- The energy price cap explained, ciphe.org.uk
- Energy price disaster looms, ciphe.org.uk