The final day for prepayment meter customers to activate Energy Bills Support Scheme vouchers is 30 June, the British Gas Energy Trust has said. The scheme that gave households £400 off their energy bills ran from October 2022 to March 2023 and has now closed1.
The trust said payments should have reached households automatically through their energy supplier. Customers on prepayment meters may have received the £400 as a voucher instead, which had to be used within three months. An expired voucher could be replaced, but the trust stated that "the last day you'll be able to activate them will be 30 June"1.
"The government's scheme (also called EBSS) that gave people £400 off their energy bills has finished"
The trust said the scheme "has now come to an end and won't be extended or replaced"1. Its guidance, published on 25 May 2023, also noted that it had not been updated for a while and that some details might no longer be accurate1.
Other support referenced in the same guidance includes a three-month extension to the Energy Price Guarantee, announced in the Budget by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, which the trust said keeps a typical dual-fuel household bill at around £2,500 a year1. It also cited a one-off £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment for people on certain disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance, and the Household Support Fund, through which councils can provide small grants towards energy bills and housing costs for people classed as vulnerable1. Older people are eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, which the trust said gives households up to £600 a year1.
| Support referenced | Detail given |
|---|---|
| Energy Bills Support Scheme | £400 per household, October 2022 to March 2023, now closed |
| Prepayment voucher deadline | 30 June 2023, including replacements for expired vouchers |
| Energy Price Guarantee | Three-month extension, typical dual-fuel bill around £2,500 a year |
| Disability Cost of Living Payment | £150 one-off, summer 2023 |
| Household Support Fund | Small council grants for energy bills and housing costs |
| Winter Fuel Payment | Up to £600 a year for eligible older people |
Why it matters for households
For a prepayment household, the £400 was not credited to an account but issued as a voucher that had to be redeemed within a fixed window. Missing the 30 June activation date means the money is lost, and no further extension or replacement scheme has been announced1. That matters for energy independence in the narrowest sense: the credit was a direct offset against consumption, and without it the same units of gas and electricity cost more from the household's own budget.
The wider context is that the crisis-era support is winding down. The Energy Price Guarantee extension is time-limited, and the trust describes the £400 scheme as finished rather than paused1. Households that relied on the combination of the two now face bills without either cushion, which shifts the balance towards reducing consumption, building credit ahead of winter, or using the debt and grant routes that remain open. The Energy Bills and Energy Independence guide sets out how those supports fit together, and the closed Energy Bill Support Payments page covers the £400 and Alternative Fuel Payments in detail.
What happens next
The 30 June date is the only dated step given. After it, no replacement for the Energy Bills Support Scheme has been reported1. The trust's guidance points to the Household Support Fund through local councils, the Disability Cost of Living Payment over the summer, and the Winter Fuel Payment later in the year as the support still available1. Households in energy debt can also approach the British Gas Energy Trust and other grant providers, and the grants and schemes section covers what remains open.
Sources1 cited
- Energy Bill Help UK After Scheme Ends | Reduce Energy Costs & Support Options, britishgasenergytrust.org.uk