ONE million Bulb Energy customers are set to receive a £400 discount off their energy bills from October.
Bulb will pay its customers the discount in six instalments to help with rising costs this winter.
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Almost 30 million UK households are eligible for the energy bill discount.
Customers will get a discount worth £66 in October and November.
A £67 discount will then be provided every month between December and March 2023.
It’s up to your energy supplier to decide how the discount will be paid, and Bulb has now revealed how its customers will get money off their bills.
The news comes only days after Prime Minister Liz Truss confirmed the new Energy Price Guarantee, saving families from bills of £3,500 a year.
Under this scheme, bills are set rise to an average of £2,500 a year from £1,971.
However, the Energy Price Guarantee acts in a similar way to the old price cap – it limits how much firms can charge you for each unit of energy.
It’s not a cap on how much your household can pay, so if you use more energy than the average household, expect to pay more.
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After the £400 energy discount is applied a typical household will pay no more than £2,100 on their energy bills over the next year.
Pay by direct debit or have a smart prepayment meter?
If your pay by direct debit or pay for your energy with a smart prepayment meter you’ll get the payment automatically.
The discount will be paid as a credit to your Bulb account or as a deduction from your monthly payment amount.
Have a traditional prepayment meter?
If you’ve got an older prepayment meter which means you need to top up a card or key to pay for your energy you’ll get a voucher each month by email or post.
It is vital traditional prepayment customers make sure their contact details are up to date in their Bulb account.
Customers will need to show some identification that matches the name on their account to redeem their vouchers at the Post Office.
What else should you know about the scheme?
Customers won’t be asked for their bank details to receive any of the payments.
The government has already warned about potential scams, so always contact your energy provider if you’re concerned about suspicious text messages, phone calls or emails.
If you rent your property and the electricity is in your landlord’s name – Ofgem says that they must pass on the discount payments to you.
What other energy bill help is coming?
From October the first, all households will start to receive a £400 energy bill discount.
The payment will be dished out by your energy supplier and will be split across six discounts between October and March next year.
Households will receive a £66 energy bill discount in October and November and a discount worth £67 in December, January, February and March.
In November, a £300 one-off “Pensioner Cost of Living Payment” will be paid out to eight million households.
It will be given to those who already get the winter fuel payment – which is worth between £100 and £300 for those over state pension age.
Millions of households are in line to get the £150 Warm Home Discount between December and March 2023.
Check if you can get an energy grant
There are plenty of energy grants and schemes open to help you out if you’re struggling.
British Gas has recently confirmed that it’ll pay its most vulnerable customers grants worth £750 to help with sky-high bills.
The British Gas Energy Trust has previously paid struggling households up to £1,500 – and you don’t need to be a British Gas customer to apply for this help.
Ask your supplier what’s on offer and how to apply, or check here:
You can get free debt advice
If you’re in debt there are plenty of services you can take advantage of and they offer free advice on how to manage debt.
Most of them can offer you free guidance and help in person, over the telephone or online.
