Millions of households to still get £400 energy rebate direct into bank accounts | The Sun
MILLIONS of households will still receive the £400 energy rebate this winter, Liz Truss have confirmed.
It comes as the new Prime Minister announced a price freeze on the cost of gas and electricity for the next two years.
The new Energy Price Guarantee means a typical family will not pay more than £2,500 a year on bills.
However the cap only limits the amount firms can charge customers, households could still pay more than this amount depending on their energy usage.
She also announced support for businesses for at least six months.
Plus, a new fund for households who are not protected by the price cap, such as those with heating oil or living in park home.
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Everything you need to know about today’s energy bill plan announcement
The new cap will come into force on October 1.
Today, the Prime Minister announced:
- A two year price freeze on bills, saving households £1,000
- Support for businesses for at least six months
- Households will still get the £400 rebate on bills this winter
- Millions excluded by the price cap to get support from a new fund
Nearly 30 million households are eligible for the discount which is being administered by energy firms.
British Gas, EDF, SSE and Ovo Energy are paying customers who pay by direct debit the discount into their bank accounts.
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Millions of British Gas customers to get £400 rebate direct into bank accounts
It's up to individual energy suppliers to determine how their customers are paid.
Bulb, E.ON, E.ON Next, Scottish Power, Shell Energy, Octopus Energy, Utilita and Utility Warehouse will apply the £400 rebate as a discount off bills.
From October 1, the energy price cap will rise from £1,927 to £2,500 and will be fixed at this rate for next two years.
The new price cap will be paid through general taxation with the government set to reveal more in the Budget later this month on how it was funded.
The energy price cap, set by the regulator Ofgem, limits the maximum suppliers can charge customers for each unit of gas and electricity on the standard variable tariff.
The price cap does not protect customers from wholesale prices.
This means it's not a cap on how much you can be charged for the energy that you use.
So if you use more energy than the typical households you should expect to pay more.
If you use less energy than the typical household you could pay less than the price cap.
We list in detail how each energy supplier plans to distribute the £400 energy bills rebate.
You can also follow our live cost of living blog for further updates.
British Gas
- Credited to bank account
The country's biggest energy supplier with 10million customers, British Gas, has now revealed how the bill rebate will be applied.
Those who pay by direct debit – which is the vast majority of British Gas' customers – will be expected to pay their bills as normal each month.
British Gas said it will then send the money straight to your bank each month, like a refund, once your direct debit has successfully gone through.
If your monthly direct debit payment is lower than the monthly discount value, the remaining balance will be applied to your energy account as a credit.
For example, if your Direct Debit is £100 a month, you’d pay that as normal. Then a few days later, £67 will be paid in to your bank account.
If your Direct Debit is less than £67 a month, say £50 for example, £50 will be refunded to your bank account and the remaining £17 will be applied as credit to your energy account.
If you pay by quarterly cash or cheque your discount will be applied to your account balance each month.
If you're on a smart prepayment meter, the discount will be automatically credited to your electricity meter in the first week of each month of delivery.
If you're on a traditional prepayment meter, you'll be given a redeemable energy bill discount voucher or special action message (SAMs) in the first week of each month, issued via SMS text, email or post.
EDF
- Credited to bank account
Like British Gas, EDF has also confirmed that its 5.2million customers who pay by monthly direct debit will pay their bill as normal.
These customers will then receive the energy bill discount directly into their bank account after a successful direct debit is processed within five working days.
For example, if your October bill comes to £225, your direct debit will go through as normal and once it's processed you'll receive a refund worth £67 into your bank account within five working days.
If your bill is £45 then you'll get £45 refunded. The remainder of the monthly rebate will be added to your bill, so you still get the discount but it will be spaced out over more months.
If you pay when you get your bill you’ll receive your monthly discount as a credit to your energy account in the first week of each month.
Those on smart prepayment meters will receive the discount automatically through a credit on their device.
Those on traditional prepayment meters will receive vouchers by email or post within 11 working days of the first day of each month.
SSE and Ovo Energy
- Credited to bank account
Both SSE and Ovo Energy customers will see the £400 discount instalments credited to their bank account after a successful direct debit payment has gone through.
For example, if your October bill comes to £100, your direct debit will go through as normal and once it's processed you'll receive a refund worth £67 into your bank account within five working days.
If your bill is £35 then you'll get £35 refunded. The remainder of the monthly rebate will be added to your bill, so you still get the discount but it will be spaced out over more months.
Those on smart prepayment meters will see the discount instalments credited to their electricity meter.
Those on traditional prepayment meters will receive the rebate as a voucher.
Bulb
- Direct debit reduction
Bulb customers will receive the discount automatically and their direct debits will be adjusted accordingly.
Those on smart prepayment meters will have the amount credited to their electricity account.
E.ON and E.ON Next
- Direct debit reduction
E.ON confirmed how its 3.8million customers will get their hands on the £400 energy bill discount.
Those who pay by direct debit that are on a fixed energy tariff will see the rebate amount deducted from their monthly payment amounts.
If a customer’s payments are less than £66/67, the firm will reduce payments to £0 and add the extra as an account credit.
Customers on the standard variable tariff that pay by direct debit will see the rebate added as a credit on to their account each month.
Any excess credit will be carried over to the following month.
Those on smart prepayment meters will also receive the payment as a split credit to their gas and electricity meters.
Scottish Power
- Credited to bank account
Scottish Power customers will be expected to pay their bills as normal and then receive the cash discount back as a payment into their bank account.
Shell Energy
- Direct debit reduction
Shell Energy's 1million customers will see the six discounts deducted from their bills before their direct debit is taken.
Non-direct debit payers will see the discount appear on their bill as an extra payment, so they’ll also owe less than they normally would.
Smart prepayment meter customers will receive the monthly payment direct to their meters as a credit.
Octopus Energy
- Direct debit reduction
Octopus electricity customers will get an automatic monthly credit of £66 in October and November and then £67 between December and March.
The credit should automatically reduce customer monthly payments.
If a customer’s direct debit payment is less than £67, the firm will look to apply a payment holiday (reducing certain direct debits to £0) and credit their account with the remaining amount.
For smart prepayment customers, the discount will be added directly onto their meter as a credit.
Utilita
- Direct debit reduction
The six payments worth £66-67 will be automatically added as a credit to your account. That means the cash will reduce your overall bill.
Those on smart prepayment meters will be credited automatically.
Those on traditional prepayment meters will get the discount in voucher form.
Utility Warehouse
- Direct debit reduction
Like Shell Energy, Utility Warehouse customers on fixed energy tariffs and the standard variable tariff will see the discount come off their bill.
Customer direct debits will be adjusted before each monthly bill to reflect that the customer has received the discount.
Customers on smart prepayment meters will receive the discount remotely through a credit on their device.
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