Households in Wales with a domestic electricity account are receiving the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS). This is a non-repayable grant of £400 from the government, that will be paid in instalments between October 2022 and March 2023. This is being paid as a £66 voucher in October and November, followed by a £67 voucher from December to March.
If you’re paying your energy supplier by direct debit, on receipt of a bill or using a smart prepayment meter, you don’t need to do anything. The money from the support scheme will either be taken off your monthly payment, sent to your bank directly or applied as credit to your bill or meter.
If you’re on a traditional prepayment (non-smart) meter, you will need to redeem your vouchers. You should have already received one or two of your energy support vouchers from the government by now. Almost all vouchers have already been handed out by suppliers but there are still thousands that have yet to be redeemed.
Have you received your vouchers?
If you’re yet to receive your vouchers, here is what you need to do:
- Contact your supplier – If you haven’t received your vouchers or have lost them, contact your supplier and they should be able to re-send via post, email or text.
- Update your contact details – Make sure your energy supplier has your most up to date contact number and email address, either by using your online account or contacting your supplier directly.
How to redeem your vouchers
If you have a traditional prepayment (non-smart) meter, you need to redeem the vouchers you’re sent, yourself. You can do this by going to your nearest Post Office or PayPoint shop to add it to your gas or electricity top-up key or card. You will need to redeem the voucher within three months of receiving it, otherwise the voucher will expire.
Your vouchers are not interchangeable, it will state where you can redeem your vouchers on them. Some PayPoint shops have been refusing to redeem the vouchers, if this is the case for you, visit an alternative store or email PayPoint directly: enquiries@paypoint.com.
For more information and help on this, click here.
If you need support with your finances and energy bills, our Money Advice Team are available to help.