MILLIONS of prepayment meter customers will now benefit from new top-up limits.
The news comes as 4.5million prepay customers begin to receive a £400 energy rebate.
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Those on older, traditional prepayment meters will not be able to receive the discount directly and will instead receive vouchers.
While those on new smart prepayment meters will have the discount applied automatically.
The energy bills rebate is split into six payments and energy 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.
However, most gas and electricity top-up key cards have a limit of £49 per transaction.
It meant that households would have to redeem vouchers over multiple transactions and could’ve caused some to miss out on the free cash help.
But The Sun can now reveal that the gas card and electricity key top-up limits have been raised from £49 to £99.
A spokesperson for the Post Office and Payzone which provide the facilities for prepayment customers to top up their legacy meters said: “We have increased the maximum transaction on electricity keys and gas cards from £49 to £99.”
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Customers of British Gas, EDF, E.ON, Bulb and Good Energy will be able to redeem their energy bill rebate vouchers at their local Post Office and PayZone kiosks.
Other energy suppliers are issuing the rebate to their customers via PayPoint who have also confirmed that their top-up limits have been upped to £99 “so that vouchers (initially for £66) can be credited in one transaction”, according to a spokesperson.
A Utilita spokesperson said: “We welcome the increase in the maximum top-up limit introduced by the Post Office, Payzone and PayPoint.
“It is better for the customer as they would have needed to receive and redeem two vouchers in order to receive the full EBSS payment.
“This could have caused customers additional effort or issues with vouchers being lost in the post. The top-up increase means one voucher only.”
A spokesperson for EDF said: “This decision is in view of the increasing costs of energy and the volume of energy vouchers being redeemed.
“Customers will see shorter transaction times, with the majority of top ups being catered for in one single transaction.”
Smart prepayment meter customers don’t need to take any action and energy firms will automatically apply the £400 discount onto their smart meters.
What other energy bill help is coming?
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.
And from November 8, vulnerable households across the UK will receive a £324 cost of living cash boost.
The government says it aims to make all payments by November 23.
The second payment will automatically be paid into the bank accounts of those eligible.
Millions of households are in line to get the £150 Warm Home Discount between December and March 2023.
