In February 2023, the Government announced details of a national scheme (an Alternative Funding scheme) to support households, who did not benefit from the £400 reduction in their electricity bills under the main Energy Bills Discount Scheme.
Please do not contact the Council about making an application for the Alternative Funding scheme, as we will not be able to help you.
An assisted digital call centre has been put in place by the Government to deal with any enquiries.
The freephone telephone number for the centre is 0808 175 3287. The Government Contact Centre is open Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm.
There are two Alternative Funding schemes available, and these are:
The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) scheme
This scheme is targeted at households that missed out on the £400 energy bills discount scheme as they did not have a direct contractual relationship with their electricity supplier, for example, if you pay for energy through a landlord. Customers who are eligible for support under the main Energy Bills Discount Scheme will not be eligible for EBSS AF.
Applications for this scheme are made to the Government and not to the Council, so if you think you are eligible please follow this link to apply for Energy Bill Support online.
The Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) scheme
This scheme is aimed at those households that heat their homes using alternative energy sources, such as oil, coal, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or biomass rather than gas or electricity. Applications for this scheme must be made to the Government and not to the Council, so please use the following link to apply for the Alternative Fuel Payment online
Further information
Once an EBSS AF or AFP application has been submitted and the Government had verified your eligibility, your information will be passed to us to check your address details and arrange payment.
If we are unable to verify your details, then you may be asked to provide us with further evidence before the relevant payment can be made.
Please note: We will start to make payments for these schemes from 2 May 2023.