Government Energy Support FAQs

6. I don’t have a bank account. Can I take the £600 as cash?

There is an option to take the payment as cash, but this is dependent on available cash at the branch you attend. Taking such a large sum in cash is a serious risk. If you lose the cash it cannot be replaced. You are strongly advised to open an account to receive this payment. This is the safest option.

If you choose to take the payment as cash, you will need to present photographic ID from the options listed below:

• Valid Passport

• Valid UK or EU/EEA Driving Licence

• Asylum ID Card

• NI Electoral Identity Card

• Translink SmartPass (Senior/60+/War Disabled/Blind Persons)

• Armed Forces ID or Police Warrant Card

7. Can someone else redeem a voucher on someone’s behalf if they are elderly/disabled/housebound or otherwise unable to do it themselves?

If customers require support with redeeming their vouchers, there is an explanation on the voucher if they want someone else to redeem their voucher.

8. I need large print or braille

If your electricity supplier is aware of your needs, your voucher will arrive in the appropriate format.

9. What if I don’t have a domestic electricity contract?

Equivalent payments will be made at a later date to households who do not have a domestic electricity contract (e.g. residents of park homes, some care homes, tenants in certain types of private and social rented homes, homes supplied by private wires, residents of caravans and houseboats on registered sites, farmers living in domestic farmhouses without a domestic electricity connection, households off the electricity grid). Further details will be published.

10. How does my voucher arrive?

You receive your voucher in the post from the Post Office. For customers who pay for their electricity via a keypad meter, vouchers are addressed to ‘the occupier’. Vouchers issued to customers paying by standard credit (bill pay) are issued in the name of the electricity account holder.

Redeem your vouchers at the Post Office promptly. This will help you as you will get the benefit as soon as you redeem the voucher, and will minimise the risk of the voucher being mislaid. Prompt redemption will also help reduce delays to others receiving their vouchers and reduce the impact on Post Office services.

11. Do I need to apply?

No one needs to apply for this payment. Payments and vouchers have been issued automatically, you do not need to provide your bank details to qualify for this payment.

12. My keypad meter (only) is in my landlord’s name but I pay the electricity costs directly

Keypad meter users receive a voucher in the post, addressed to 'the occupier'. The voucher is for the value of £600 to be redeemed at a Post Office as directed on the letter. The voucher provided is intended to provide support with energy costs for the household. If you top up your keypad meter yourself, you are the intended recipient.

13. What happens if vouchers are received with an incorrect name?

This is not a problem for customers who pay for their electricity via Keypad, as they will be sent their vouchers in the name of “The Occupier” only, and so do not need to have their name on the voucher to redeem it at the Post Office. [Please note: This is the correct process for the payment. Any other communication suggesting that a named voucher is needed for customers who pay for their electricity via Keypad is incorrect.]

However, if a customer who pays for their electricity by standard credit (bill pay) receives a voucher with the incorrect name, they should contact their supplier who will cancel the incorrect voucher and re-issue a new voucher in the correct name.

For Further Information: www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/help-domestic-energy-costs

14. Does my landlord need to pass on the EBSS AFP NI support?

To ensure EBSS AFP NI is provided to the people it is designed to help, the Government has introduced regulations to require third-party intermediaries, such as landlords, to pass the support through in a just and reasonable way to end users, such as tenants.

Guidance on pass-through requirements can be found at www.gov.uk/government/publications/pass-through-requirements-for-energy-price-support-provided-to-intermediaries/guidance-on-the-pass-through-requirements-for-energy-price-support-in-great-britain-provided-to-intermediaries

15. What if there is more than one household using the same electricity meter?

Can each household get the £600?

EBSS allocates a single £600 payment to each domestic electricity account. It is beyond the scope of EBSS to provide more than one £600 payment to multiple households using one electricity meter. Such households will receive a single £600 payment.

If you are not sure how to pass on this payment to the rightful recipients, the UK Government has introduced regulations which require that intermediaries, including landlords, pass-through the Energy Bills Support Scheme and Alternative Fuel Payment Northern Ireland benefit to end users, including tenants, in a just and reasonable way. These regulations came into force on 12 January 2023. The regulations are available at: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/10/contents/made

To help support intermediaries, including landlords, to understand the requirements, the UK Government has also issued guidance that can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pass-through-requirements-for-energy-price-support-provided-to-intermediaries/guidance-on-the-pass-through-requirements-for-energy-price-support-in-great-britain-provided-to-intermediaries

Can these households apply to receive separate payments through the EBSS Alternative Funding?

If a household gets EBSS they are not eligible for EBSS Alternative Funding and if a landlord receives EBSS, they have to pass it on in a just and reasonable way. The EBSS Alternative Funding application process in NI will check applicants against the register of domestic meters to confirm that they have not already received the payment. The domestic meter check is a key counter-fraud mechanism. This is the same as the GB scheme.

16. I have recently moved home, do I still qualify for the £600 payment?

The scheme’s Qualifying Date and Time was 2 January 2023 at 8am. Customers who move after the Qualifying Date/Time, who are eligible for EBSS via a voucher payment, will need to contact their supplier.

All parties that move after 2nd January but before receiving their EBSS payment, will need to contact the supplier they were with at 8am on 2nd January, to arrange for EBSS to be delivered to them.

Neither they nor any new occupant will be able to redeem vouchers as issued, as they will no longer have all the required evidence of eligibility (keypad top-up key or app; proof of address dated before 2nd Jan).

NOTE: Your personal data will be shared with the UK government to support administration of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) and Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP). These data consist of your meter point number, whether you have received and redeemed each EBSS and AFP payment, and data about your meter point including your billing cycle and how you pay your bill.

 The legal basis for processing these personal data is public task. Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, under Article 6(1)(e) of GDPR and in the exercise of official authority vested in the Secretary of State for DESNZ. The specific public task is to allow for monitoring, assurance, fraud prevention and evaluation of the EBSS and AFP.

 You can find more information on how the UK government will use your personal data in their privacy notice.