Energy bill support confirmed for customers in Northern Ireland and off-grid homes

The government has confirmed that support to help with rising energy bills will be introduced for domestic customers in Northern Ireland and for off-grid homes.

The latest raft of measures follows the announcement earlier in September of the Energy Price Guarantee that will fix energy prices for domestic customers in England, Scotland and Wales from October. The new update also adds more clarity to the rollout of the Energy Bill Support Scheme that will see all domestic households receive an extra £400 towards their energy bills from October.

The government will also be rolling out support for businesses including charities, churches, hospitals and schools, in a new Energy Bill Relief Scheme. This will last for six months with a review published after three months. 

Read on to find out more about how the new support will be distributed for households and businesses.

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Support for off-grid customers

Households that are not on standard gas or electricity contracts, such as those living in park homes or on heat networks, have so far found themselves excluded from the two support schemes already announced. They will now receive support equivalent to the Energy Price Guarantee which will reduce unit rates for domestic customers.

The government has also confirmed that these households will now be included in those getting the Energy Bill Support Scheme discount of £400 towards their energy payments. Exactly how this is paid is still being worked out and tested. 

People who do not use the gas network for heating - such as those who use heating oil to heat their homes - will not benefit from the government's reduction of gas bills by 4.2p per kWh. To make up for this, the government will also provide an additional payment of £100 to these households across the UK. They will still receive the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme discount, as this is applied to electricity bills. 

The government said this measure is designed to ‘compensate for the rising costs’ of alternative fuels such as heating oil. It has promised further details on how the discount scheme will work shortly.

The cost of kerosene heating oil has risen sharply in the past year, and in July 2022 sat at around 99p per litre. Around 1.5 million homes in the UK use oil to heat their homes, including many in Northern Ireland. 

Find out more about: heating oil prices

Energy bill support for tenants who pay their landlords for energy

In circumstances where people pay for energy via a commercial business - for example those living in park homes who pay the park owner for their energy costs - the business owner will receive the new Energy Bill Relief Scheme discounts for businesses on their bills. This will put their bills at the same level as those being paid by domestic customers. They should pass these savings on to their tenants.

Some tenants of private landlords also pay for their energy as part of their rent. In these situations, your landlord will benefit from the Energy Price Guarantee and the Energy Bills Support Scheme for domestic energy customers. Landlords should pass these benefits on to their tenants. 

In order to make sure these savings are passed on, the government is introducing legislation so that landlords have to pass the benefit directly on to residents in both scenarios above.

Energy bills support in Northern Ireland

Households in Northern Ireland have long been waiting for clarity on how the government will help with their energy bills. 

We now know this support will look very similar to the package offered to domestic households in Great Britain, and everyone will receive equivalent support.

Energy suppliers will reduce unit rates by up to 17p per kWh for electricity and 4.2p per kWh for gas. For pre-payment meter customers, the same discounts will be applied to your current unit rates.

This support will take effect from November, but will be backdated to 1 October. No action is required to benefit from the guarantee and the discount will be applied to your bills automatically.

In addition, households in Northern Ireland will also receive a £400 discount on electricity bills through the Northern Ireland Energy Bills Support Scheme. No action is required to receive this support either.

Customers in Northern Ireland who use alternative fuels such as heating oil instead of mains gas will receive an extra £100 payment to compensate for price increases.

Energy unit rates capped for businesses

A new Energy Bill Relief Scheme is being rolled out for non-domestic energy customers in England, Scotland and Wales. A similar scheme will be established in Northern Ireland with a comparable level of support.

Businesses, as well as voluntary sector organisations such as charities and public sector organisations such as schools, care homes and hospitals, will see a reduction in their energy unit rates from October. 

The reduction will apply to fixed contracts agreed on or after 1 April, new fixed price contracts, deemed/out-of-contract or variable tariffs and flexible purchase contracts. Customers do not need to apply to access the support. 

The government will discount gas and electricity unit rates to a baseline 'government supported price', which is lower than expected wholesale prices. 

This is capped at £211 per MWh for electricity and £75 per MWh for gas, however the discount will be applied to your bills in pence per kWh. A comparable rate will be set for Northern Ireland.

Those on variable tariffs will receive a per-unit discount on energy costs up to a maximum of the difference between the government-supported price and the average expected wholesale price over the period the scheme is in place.

For businesses on flexible purchase contracts, through which businesses can buy energy from suppliers on a flexible basis, the level of reduction on their payments will be calculated by energy providers, according to the specifics of the company’s contract. It will be subject to the maximum discount too.

If you have a business energy contract and want to see how the scheme will apply to you, with examples, head to the government's guidance on its Energy Bill Relief Scheme for non-domestic customers.