Citizens Advice response to BEIS’ letter on changes to the Energy Bills Support Scheme

Citizens Advice response to BEIS letter on changes to the Energy Bills Support Scheme  254 KB

We welcome the further opportunity to respond to this consultation on changes to the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

We support the decision by the government to increase the energy bill reduction to £400 and to turn the rebate into a grant. The energy price cap could increase to as much as £2,880 in October, rising further to over £2,900 in January. The announced changes to the support scheme, alongside the other targeted measures, will therefore be essential to ensure that people are supported during the coming winter. Therefore, it is critically important that all necessary measures are taken to ensure that all energy customers receive the grant.

In our response to the initial Energy Bills Support Scheme consultation, we outlined several concerns about the design of the scheme that could lead to customers missing out on the payment. In particular in relation to customers with traditional prepayment meters, and customers with arrears on their account. The government’s decision to turn the rebate into a grant, and to increase the value of the payment, is an acknowledgment of the serious challenge facing households over the coming winter. Therefore, it is vitally important that all necessary measures are taken to ensure that all customers are able to benefit from the scheme.