On May 27th 2022, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced the Government would convert an earlier proposal to support all energy customers with a £200 repayable ‘discount’ on their energy bills for winter 2022-23 with a £400 non-repayable discount.
The support, applied to household electricity bills, would start in October 2022 and would comprise, for those with their own energy accounts, 6 monthly payments: £66 in each of October and November, and £67 in each of December, January and February.
For most energy consumers – those paying Direct Debt, those paying by Credit or Debit Card and those that used a smart prepayment meter – these monthly payments would be automatically credited to energy accounts.
For those consumers using a traditional prepayment meter the process would be different. These consumers would automatically get the discount each month as either:
- redeemable vouchers, sent by text, email or post, or
- an automatic credit when topping up at their usual top-up point.
Vouchers would expire after 90 days. If your voucher expired, you would be able to ask for it to be reissued. All vouchers had to be redeemed by 30 June 2023.
In theory, energy suppliers would contact you if you do not redeem your voucher. Also, in theory, some suppliers might allow you to transfer EBSS payments from your electricity meter to your gas meter.
Putting aside the inability of those energy consumers who paid for their energy use through third party accounts – for example, care home residents and residents of park homes – to access this vital £400 support, one huge snag has undermined the impact of this welcome Government support; the failure of thousands of potential recipients on traditional prepayment meters to redeem their vouchers.
According to figures published recently by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), while 1.7 million vouchers were used by households with prepayment meters across Great Britain in January 2023 – 130,000 more than in December 2022 – almost a quarter of vouchers (24 per cent) had still not been redeemed as at 1 February 2023.
Though explanations have abounded as to why vouchers are not being redeemed – from consumers believing them to be a scam (as being “too good to be true”) to consumers have real difficulties finding retail outlets that will process the top-ups required – the dilemma remains that vital support for energy bills is not getting through to some of those that need it most.
Citizens Advice, and many others, believe a full promotional campaign is required to raise awareness of these vouchers before they expire.
They believe there are three things that energy consumers currently using a traditional prepayment meter need to know:
- Current vouchers need to be redeemed within 3 months. Each voucher must be redeemed within 3 months or it will expire and you won’t be able to get the money added to your meter. If your voucher does expire, contact your supplier as they may be able to issue you a new one. To redeem the voucher you’ll need some ID — your supplier will let you know which ID to take.
- You’ll be sent the vouchers in the post, by email or text. You’ll be sent the vouchers in the post, by email or by text within 11 working days of the start of each month so it’s worth checking your spam or junk folders just in case. If you haven’t received the voucher, you should contact your energy supplier.
- You should stay wary of scams. You don’t need to apply for the scheme or give any personal details to get the discount, so any messages asking you to apply or give your details are a scam. If you’re in doubt about a message you’ve been sent, don’t respond to it directly; contact your energy supplier separately.
If you are a consumer who has not yet redeemed an EBSS voucher, or are worried that your voucher may have expired, please get in touch with your local Citizens Advice office or your energy supplier.
If you work for an organisation – public, private or voluntary – that deals with vulnerable service users on the front line please check they are aware of these vouchers and, where relevant, have redeemed them.
We need everyone to focus on this issue – we need every possible voucher redeemed.
For more information on the EBSS go to:
https://www.gov.uk/get-help-energy-bills/getting-discount-energy-bill .
For information about EBSS Alternative Payments for those who pay their energy bills through a third party, look out for a new blog here later today.
