Energy Bills Support Scheme

The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) provides a discount on energy bills of £400 for most households in Great Britain.

This scheme is being delivered through domestic electricity suppliers in six instalments from October 2022 to March 2023.

However, there are a number of households who pay for their electricity in a different way and do not have a direct relationship with their supplier, such as those who pay through a commercial intermediary, and so will not receive support through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. The Energy Bills Support Scheme - Alternative Funding (EBSS-AF) has been set up to provide this payment to these households.

The EBSS-AF is a one-off, £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households who have not received the main EBSS payment to help with their energy bills, but who are still facing increased energy costs.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) expects eligible households to include those with a commercial landlord or intermediary, such as park home residents and some housing association tenants. The EBSS-AF is expected to reach a significant number of vulnerable people, including self-funding residents in care homes.

Households eligible for EBSS-AF include:

• park home residents
• housing association, social and private tenants, and leaseholders, supplied via a landlord with a commercial meter
• partly and wholly self-funded care home residents
• households in houseboats on residential moorings
• households on a private electricity network, for example those supplied by a heat network
• off-grid households
• traveller households on authorised sites
• households who live in a dwelling on business premises that is used wholly or partly for domestic purposes
• households in temporary/supported accommodation

To qualify for a payment, the property must be occupied as the applicant's 'sole or main residence' when the application is made. Empty properties and second homes do not qualify for a payment.

Households are not eligible for both the EBSS payment and the EBSS-AF payment.

How To Apply

If you think you may be eligible to apply, you need to make an online application through the Government's application portal. The scheme closes on 31 May 2023. 

Please note, applications cannot be made direct to the Council. 

If your application passes the verification checks it will be sent to Broxbourne Council to complete final eligibility checks and process the payment. Eligible applicants will receive payment within 30 working days of Broxbourne Council receiving the application from DESNZ.

If you have any queries regarding the scheme, you can contact the Government's dedicated helpline on 0808 175 3287 which is open Monday to Friday, 8am - 8pm