The ministerial direction implementing the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) was published on 22 September 2022 by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy1. It applies to England, Scotland and Wales1.
The direction was made by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy under sections 7(3)(a) and 107 of the Electricity Act 19891. It requires domestic electricity suppliers to provide payments under the EBSS to eligible customers, to submit to reporting and auditing requirements, and to refund any overpayments made to BEIS1. It also establishes the terms on which BEIS provides EBSS funding1.
"This Direction made by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"
The publication page carries no figure for the discount itself, no start date for payments and no eligibility criteria beyond the reference to eligible customers1. It points readers to separate guidance for electricity suppliers on how to implement the scheme, and to the government response to the consultation on technical proposals for the scheme1. Those documents are where the operational detail sits; the direction itself runs to 15 pages and is published as a PDF1.
The scheme sits within the wider framework of UK home energy regulation and policy, and the department named first on the publication is covered in the guide to DESNZ.
Why it matters for households
The direction is the mechanism that obliges suppliers to pass the EBSS payment to households rather than leaving it to voluntary arrangement. For a household, that matters because the payment route runs through the electricity supplier and the electricity account, not through a claim made by the occupant. The reporting and auditing requirements, and the duty to refund overpayments to BEIS, are the controls placed on suppliers in exchange for the funding they receive1.
The direction does not itself set the amount of support, the payment method or the timetable. Households looking for those details will not find them on this page1. The practical effect for a home's energy independence is indirect: the scheme reduces the amount a household pays for electricity over a defined period, but it does not change who supplies the power, how it is generated, or the standing charges and unit rates attached to the account. It is a payment against a bill, not a change to the terms of supply.
Because the direction applies to England, Scotland and Wales, households in Northern Ireland fall outside it, and the separate arrangements there are set out in the guide to energy bills in Northern Ireland. The wider relationship between bill support and household control over energy costs is discussed in energy bills and energy independence.
What happens next
The publication page lists no further dated steps1. It directs readers to the supplier guidance and the consultation response for implementation detail, but gives no dates for when payments begin or when the scheme ends1.