What is it?
The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) is a £400 energy bill discount set up and funded by the government to help households in Great Britain due to the rising cost of energy bills from October 2022 until March 2023.
The scheme is part of the government’s Help for Households campaign, which has a number of schemes available to those who need it. This scheme is separate to the Government Energy Price Guarantee (GEPG) scheme, which has recently been extended.
Tell me more
The scheme has now ended, so you won’t be receiving any more monthly discounts through this scheme. If you have a Pay As You Go meter, you can still redeem your vouchers until 30 June 2023. If you need any vouchers sent to you again, let us know as soon as possible.
All households in Great Britain should now have received a £400 discount paid in six instalments – £66 in October and November 2022, and £67 in the following four months. The last payment was made in March 2023.
You don’t need to pay back the £400 discount, and we have to provide it to you. There’s no way to opt-out of the scheme and we can’t advise you on how you choose to use this discount.
The government require us to apply the discount to your electricity account. If you only have gas with us, your discount will come from your electricity provider.
In some cases, the discount may be used to reduce debt balances.
How and when will I get my EBSS discount?
You should now have received your EBSS discounts, however if you think you’re missing any, just get in touch as soon as possible.
How and when you’ll have received the discount will depend on how you pay us:
Variable Direct Debit or if you pay manually on receipt of bill
We’ll have added the credit to your account within the first five working days of each month.
Fixed monthly Direct Debit
We’ll have credited your energy account in the first five working days of each month – so you’ll see it on your online account or on your bill.
We’ll then have refunded this to your bank account within five working days of your monthly payment date – it may take a further five working days to reach your bank account. If your Direct Debit is cancelled, or your account is in debt, we may not refund the balance to you.
Smart Pay As You Go
We’ll have added the credit straight on to your smart meter within the first five working days of the month. You should also have received a unique reference number, called a “UTRN”, which you can type into your meter if the credit didn’t reach your meter automatically.
If your meter is currently off supply, you may need to press “A” and then “B” on your meter to get it back on.
Traditional Pay As You Go
You’ll have received a voucher from us within the first 11 working days of the month. This will have come from our third-party voucher provider called PayPoint. If we hold a valid email address for you, then we’ll have emailed your voucher to you (from no-reply@paypointsvp.com). If not, we’ll have posted it to the street address where the PAYG meter is located. Your voucher will be valid for 90 days, or until 30 June – whichever is earlier.
You’ll need to show your ID to redeem your voucher. If your account isn’t in your name, please call us on 0345 555 7 500, so we can get your account set up for you and make sure you get your vouchers.
Please be aware that emails will be sent to the email address you use to log in to your Ecotricity account.
If you have a new email address, please let us know by calling 0345 555 7 100, so we can update this for you, or you may not receive your voucher.
If you've changed any of your personal details and now your ID doesn't match the name we have for you, please contact us. If you don't, you may not be able to use your voucher.
All vouchers must be redeemed by 30 June 2023 – if you need any of your vouchers sent to you again, get in touch as soon as possible on 0345 555 7 100.
Will the discount be paid into my bank account?
If you pay by fixed Direct Debit, then we’ll have refunded your discount to the bank account set up for your Direct Debit payments, in line with the timescales above. We have to provide this discount to you.
If you don’t pay by fixed Direct Debit, the discount can’t be refunded unless you’re still in credit following your next bill. You’re welcome to request a refund of any credit you may have on your account, in addition to the EBSS discount, but we recommend keeping a couple of months’ worth of credit on your account to see you through the winter.
I’ve recently joined you – how will I get my discount?
If you’ve recently switched to us or moved into a property we supply, you’ll still receive your discount.
If you joined us before or on the qualifying date (the first day of each month), you’ll receive your discount for that month.
If your account wasn’t set up until after the qualifying date, we’ll look into this and process your discount as soon as possible. This may take up to five working days, unless you have a traditional Pay As You Go meter, in which case it may take up to 11 working days.
If you didn’t join us until after the qualifying date, it will be your previous supplier’s responsibility to provide your EBSS discount.
I’m switching away or moving out – how will I get my discount?
Your discount will be paid by whoever your supplier is on the qualifying date (the first day of each month). For example, if you moved out of an Ecotricity-supplied property on 1 October, we’d provide your discount for October, and the supplier at your new property would then provide your future discounts.
If you moved in before the qualifying date, but we didn’t find out until after the qualifying date, don’t worry – we’ll make sure you get your discount if you’re eligible.
My account balance looks different to my bill – why is this?
Your bill is correct – it has a detailed view of what you need to pay and includes your EBSS discount. Sometimes the account balance on your online account may not update when we add an EBSS discount, so please refer to your bill if they look different.
Can I have the discount for my gas instead?
The government have decided that the scheme will be applied via electricity accounts, because most people have an electricity supply.
Can I exchange my Paypoint Pay As You Go voucher for cash?
No – the voucher must only be used to purchase electricity. If a shop offers you cash or goods in exchange for your voucher, please report this to your energy supplier as soon as possible, as this may be fraud.
Beware of scams
We won’t ask you for your bank details at any time for this scheme. Please be aware of potential scams and report any unusual activity to report@phishing.gov.uk.
Please be aware that if you have a traditional Pay As You Go meter, we use a company called PayPoint to provide your vouchers by email or post.