The government announced this week that from October 29 million households will receive a £400 non-refundable discount on their energy bills as part of the scheme to support the energy bill. The announcement was part of the £37m Cost of Living Support package and came after horror predictions about the October energy price cap emerged.
According to some estimates, the January price cap could even be close to £4,000.
The £400 discount that will be administered by energy suppliers and paid to consumers in six months looks to soften the blow.
But a charity has warned that some households are at risk of missing out
While an automatic payment will be taken from those who use household electricity meters and pay for their energy through standard credit, it is not so simple for others.
Customers with a traditional prepayment meter will receive energy bill coupons every week of the month via SMS, email or post, using the customer’s registered contact information.
Customers should ensure that they redeem it at their usual top-up point.
Many households using prepayment meters are among the most vulnerable in the country, pushed to the brink of fuel poverty as a result of the crisis.
Maureen Fildes, of National Energy Action, fears these households will struggle to redeem these vouchers.
She said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don’t think this will be enough to help people face the cost of living this winter.
“Many people on prepayment meters have little contact with the energy supplier; they simply reload as and when needed.
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This will then rise to £67 per month from December to March 2023.
Energy Secretary Greg Hands said: “I encourage families across the country to act on these plans and especially those customers with traditional prepayment meters who need to take action.
“Combined with leading-edge action to radically improve our own energy security, we will continue to be on the side of UK consumers now and in the future.”
There are a number of other areas where the government is trying to help the most vulnerable households amid the cost of living.
But critics have criticized Westminster’s “slowness” to intervene ahead of the price cap announcements.
Mike Foster, head of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, said: express.co.uk: “Government intervention in dealing with the price cap has been too slow, because as soon as the price cap is announced by Ofgem, suppliers immediately ramp up their direct debits.
“The majority of bill payers pay by direct debit, so we paid the higher fees before the price cap even came, because annual adjustments are made by the direct debit.
“We were warned that this would happen before there was any revenue for us as consumers.
“The government needs to think a little more carefully about getting things sorted when Ofgem announce their latest price cap change, which is in a few weeks.”