Energy Bills Support Scheme £400 credit begins in Northern Ireland

Households in Northern Ireland began receiving the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme credit from November 2022, according to Advice NI, the independent advice network. The credit is added to electricity bills by suppliers and is credited in six roughly equal monthly instalments¹.

The £400 payment is one part of a package of cost of living support announced by the government at the end of May 2022¹. Advice NI states that the credit "will be paid automatically to most people between 8 and 23 November"¹. The same window applies to the second instalment of the low income cost of living payment, worth £324, which is also paid automatically to most eligible people between 8 and 23 November¹. The first £326 of that payment had already been issued to those eligible¹.

Alongside the energy credit, Advice NI sets out other payments in the package. A low income cost of living payment of as much as £650 is available to people receiving certain benefits¹. Those in receipt of disability benefits are being given an additional payment of £150, and entitlement on 25 May 2022 is the qualifying date¹. Pensioners are being given an extra £300 top-up to the Winter Fuel Allowance, and recipients must have been born before 26 September 1956¹.

On energy prices, Advice NI says the government moved to "restrict the unit prices that can be charged for electricity and gas for 2 years from 1 October 2022"¹. Average unit prices are 10.3p/kWh for gas and 34p/kWh for those on standard tariffs¹. Customers on fixed-rate deals will be eligible for a discount of "up to" 17p/kWh for electricity and 4.2p/kWh for gas, and standing charges will not be affected¹. Support will be provided for at least the next 6 months¹.

"This is a £400 credit that will be added to electricity bills by suppliers"

Advice NI, Cost of living - what can I do about it?¹

Measure	Amount	Key date
Energy Bills Support Scheme credit	£400, in 6 roughly equal monthly instalments	Payments from November 2022¹
Low income cost of living payment, second part	£324	Paid automatically to most people between 8 and 23 November¹
Disability benefits additional payment	£150	Entitlement on 25 May 2022¹
Pensioner Winter Fuel Allowance top-up	£300	Born before 26 September 1956¹

Why it matters for households

The £400 credit reduces the amount households in Northern Ireland pay for electricity over the winter, spread across six monthly instalments rather than paid as a lump sum¹. Because it is applied to electricity bills by suppliers, most households do not need to apply, and Advice NI says it will be paid automatically to most people between 8 and 23 November¹. The separate £324 low income cost of living payment reaches the same group in the same window, so some households receive both in November¹. The £150 disability payment and the £300 pensioner top-up are separate, with their own qualifying dates¹.

The energy price restriction applies to unit prices rather than standing charges, which Advice NI says are not affected¹. Households on fixed-rate deals are covered by a discount of "up to" 17p/kWh for electricity and 4.2p/kWh for gas¹. Support is set to run for at least the next 6 months¹.

What happens next

Advice NI states that support is likely to shift to more targeted help for organisations most in need from April 2023¹. It also notes that, beginning in 2023, Tax Credits claimants will be required to move their claim to Universal Credit¹. Further detail on the Northern Ireland scheme is set out in the guide to help with energy bills in Northern Ireland, and the wider package sits alongside welfare mitigation payments in Northern Ireland and the Warm Home Discount.

Sources1 cited