The Alternative Fuel Payment

The Alternative Fuel Payment scheme will pay £200 to households and £150 to non-domestic properties that use alternative fuels for heating such as biomass, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or heating oil. The payment will help around 2 million households off the gas grid to meet their energy costs. 

Households that are eligible will receive a one-off payment of £200. Non-domestic properties that are eligible (for example, businesses, charities, public sector organisations) will receive a one-off payment of £150.  

The Government will continue monitoring energy prices and will consider further intervention if required to protect UK households from extraordinary fuel prices.

The Alternative Fuel Payment scheme is part of a wider support package by HM Government in response to the unprecedented rise in the cost of energy. It has been set up to support customers that use alternative heating fuels and so may have missed out on support provided via the Energy Price Guarantee and Energy Bill Relief Scheme, where discounts are provided for both electricity and gas unit rates. 

Energy suppliers do not determine which properties are eligible for the Alternative Fuel Payment – these have been identified by the government. Energy suppliers have a legal obligation to deliver the discount to all eligible customers, as notified by the government.  

The vast majority of households and non-domestic properties do not need to do anything to receive the payment and we will contact you to let you know the payment is being made. 

If you believe you are eligible for this payment, but you have not received one during the month of February 2023, you are now able to apply to the government directly. 

Please search for “Apply for the alternative fuel bill support if you do not get it automatically” in the search bar on GOV.UK or in an internet search engine. If you don’t have internet access, you can call their helpline on 0808 175 3943. The helpline is open 8am to 6pm on Monday to Friday.   

The vast majority of eligible households will receive the payment by the 28th February 2023. Exactly when and how you will receive your payment will depend on  how you pay your bill.  

• If you pay by Direct Debit you’ll have credit added to your account 

• If you have a smart prepayment meter you’ll have credit added to your meter 
• If you have a traditional prepayment meter you’ll receive a top-up voucher to redeem at the Post Office within three months. 

All eligible households should wait until the end of February to receive their payment before contacting us.  

Non-domestic customers should receive their payment by 10th March 2023. You’ll have credit added to your account. 

If you believe you should receive the Alternative Fuel Payment and have not been contacted by us, you can apply directly via the government portal. 

For those without online access, the contact centre helpline can be reached on 0808 175 3943. The helpline is open 8am to 6pm on Monday to Friday.

If we informed you that we would be making the payment to you, and you have not received it, please get in touch with us. 

The Government has decided which properties are eligible, providing payments to those not connected to the gas network, and so do not use mains gas. If you heat your home or business with electricity, you may well be eligible for this payment.   

The Alternative Fuel Payment is an additional payment on top of other support offered by the Government to help with the cost of high energy bills. If you are eligible, you will continue to receive other discounts, such as the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBSS).  

Eligible households will receive £200 and non-domestic properties will receive £150. You will not be able to opt out of this scheme.   

No, this is a non-repayable payment funded by HM Government to all households and non-domestic properties not connected to the gas grid.  

The Alternative Fuels Payment is funded directly by HM Government. 

We’ll add this as a credit to your energy account. If your account is in credit we’ll be happy to review whether we can refund the amount to you, we’ll need a meter reading to ensure your account is billed up to date. 

You can only use your voucher at the Post Office. It can’t be redeemed at Payzone or Paypoint.  You can find your nearest Post Office at www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder. Please remember to take ID with you.   

The Post Office will ask for valid ID that matches the name and address as shown on the voucher for the vouchers to be redeemed. The types of ID accepted are: 

• Valid Passport   
• Valid EU Photo Driving Licence            
• Valid UK Photo Driving Licence            
• Armed Forces ID Card             
• Police Warrant Card     

• National Identity Card (photographic)  
• UK Biometric Residency Permit  
• Domestic Bill/Statement (dated within 12 months) – Household or Bank  
• Asylum ID Card  
• Other Photo ID  

Yes. The person redeeming your voucher will have to provide evidence of their own identity, as well as yours. See the answer above for acceptable forms of ID. 

For more information on the domestic Alternative Fuels Payment scheme, please visit this page. For information on other Government support measures for winter 2022-2023, please visit Help for Households.      

In order to make sure everyone is receiving their Energy Bills Support Scheme discount, the Government are obligating suppliers to provide regular updates. We will be required to share some customer data to do this. This will include your meter point number and whether you have received and redeemed each payment. We won’t be sharing your name or contact details. Your data will be handled and stored securely in line with our privacy policy. You can read more about how the Government will use and store your data here.  

The Government provide us with a list of all eligible households and non-domestic properties with which to make the payment to. If you don’t think you’re eligible, we cannot take the payment back from you. If you don’t wish to have the payment, you could either visit gov.uk to contact the Government or you could donate your payment.