Technical proposals for the Energy Bills Support Scheme

On 3 February 2022 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a package of support to help domestic energy customers with the costs of rising energy bills, which included the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS).

Through this Scheme, the government will provide funding to all energy suppliers for them to pass a £200 reduction on to their domestic electricity customers. This will be recovered through electricity bills over 5 years starting from 2023-2024. This is a universal measure to help households smooth out the increased costs of energy bills at a time when they are particularly high.

The purpose of this consultation is to collect views on our proposals for:

• the processes needed to provide the funding to energy suppliers
• the mechanisms by which the reduction is passed on to consumers’ bills
• the recovery mechanisms

The Scheme will start from October 2022 and we expect that most customers will receive the reduction automatically. The government and suppliers will provide further information for customers ahead of scheme delivery before the autumn.

The consultation aims to test the design of the scheme, to ensure that support is provided as widely as possible in a simple and cost-effective way, and that the recovery mechanism is clear and efficient. It is open to all to respond, but we would like views in particular from:

• energy suppliers
• industry infrastructure providers
• network operators
• charities
• consumer advocacy groups

Read the BEIS consultation privacy notice.