Energy Price Guarantee 

From 1st October, a new ‘Energy Price Guarantee’ will mean a typical UK household will pay no more than £2,500 a year on their energy bill for the next two years. This is automatic and applies to all households.

This will save the average household at least £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October and is in addition to the £400 energy bills discount for all households.

This applies to all households in Great Britain, with the same level of support made available to households in Northern Ireland.

More details are given here.

Energy Bill Discount 

£400 off energy bills for households in Great Britain from this October. This automatic, non-repayable discount will be applied in six instalments between October 2022 and March 2023 to help households through winter.

There is no need to apply for the scheme and you will not be asked for your bank details.

More details are given here.

Cost of Living Payment

Households on means tested benefits, including Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Tax Credits, will receive a payment of £650 this year.

This will be made automatically in two instalments, one in summer and another in the autumn, and is in addition to the £400 discount on energy bills.

More details are given here.

Disability Cost of Living Payment

Individuals on disability benefits will receive a one-off £150 payment in September to help with extra costs, such as for specialist equipment or transport.

This is in addition to the £650 Cost of Living Payment for disabled people who also receive means tested benefits.

Check if you are eligible for The Disability Cost of Living Payment here.

Pensioner Cost of Living Payment

In the winter months pensioners can get between £100 and £300 to help pay heating bills.

This winter, they will also receive an extra one-off £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment, which will be paid as an automatic top-up to the Winter Fuel Payment.

Check if you are eligible for Pensioner Cost of Living Payment here.

Winter fuel payments

In the winter months pensioners can get between £100 and £300 to help pay heating bills.

This winter, they will also receive an extra one-off £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment, which will be paid as an automatic top-up to the Winter Fuel Payment.

Check if you are eligible for Winter fuel payments here.

Energy Bill Price Cap

The energy price cap continues to insulate households from even higher global gas prices, so families continue to pay lower bills for their electricity and gas than they otherwise would without it.

Cold weather payments

£25 extra a week if you’re getting certain benefits is available during the winter when the temperature is zero or below for more than seven days.

Check if you are eligible here.

Warm Home Discount

This autumn nearly three million low-income households are eligible for a £150 rebate on their winter electricity bills.

Check with your Energy supplier if you are eligible.

0% VAT on energy saving materials

It will be cheaper for you to install energy saving materials such as thermal insulation or solar panels with 0% VAT for the next five years, helping to improve energy efficiency in your home and keep heating bills down.

You will find some helpful tips here.

Find Energy Grants

The government is investing £12 billion in Help to Heat schemes to make sure homes are warmer and cheaper to heat. This includes the:

  • Boiler Upgrade Scheme
  • Local Authority Delivery Scheme (Sustainable Warmth Competition)
  • Home Upgrade Grant (Sustainable Warmth Competition)
  • Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund
  • Energy Company Obligation (ECO)

This funding is not delivered directly by the government, but through installers, local authorities, energy companies and other bodies.

Your Energy Bill Explained

Savings mentioned in this video are based on the unit costs and energy usage, in a typical home, according to UTILITA.

New price cap

Every household pays for the energy it uses. There is no absolute cap on the total cost.

Under the government’s two-year price guarantee, the average unit price for dual fuel customers paying by direct debit on variable deals is limited to 34p per kilowatt hour (kWh) for electricity and 10.3p per kWh for gas.

With standing charges added, it means a typical household – one that uses 12,000 kWh (kilowatt hours) of gas a year, and 2,900 kWh of electricity a year – will not pay more than £2,500 a year for energy from Saturday.

Without this intervention, that annual bill would have been £3,549 a year, rising from the expired level of £1,971 a year. Those on prepayment meters pay slightly more.