The UK Government has introduced a range of supports for domestic energy customers starting this winter.

Energy Price Guarantee (EPG)

The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) Scheme has been in place in Northern Ireland since November 2022. This temporary government support reduced the unit cost of electricity that a typical household in Northern Ireland pays.

For energy used from April to June 2023, customers receive an average discount of 3.8 pence per kWh for electricity and 2.6 pence per kWh for gas.

From 1 July 2023, this discount will be set to zero, meaning that customers will be charged the SSE Airtricity unit rate applicable to their contract from this date. The scheme is reviewed by government on a regular basis and we will contact our customers if this discount rate changes again.

For more information on the removal of the EPG discount please visit gov.uk.

Energy Bill Support Scheme and Alternative Fuel Payment (EBSS AFP NI)

The Government has provided a payment of £600 to help with energy bills. This includes £400 under the Energy Bills Support Scheme and £200 under the Alternative Fuel Payment scheme. All of our customers should have received this £600 payment, if you have not received your voucher please contact us. 

The EBSS AFP NI is separate to the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) which has provided a unit rate discount.

Redeeming your voucher

All vouchers must be redeemed at a Post Office.

• If your voucher has an issue date before 1st March. These vouchers have expired on 31 March. Please contact us here and we will work with you to arrange an alternative payment before the scheme ends on 30 June.
• If your voucher has an issue date in March this voucher will have an expiry date 3 months from the date of issue to allow satisfactory time for you to redeem. Please take this voucher to any Post Office, along with the below supporting documents to redeem your voucher.
• Any vouchers that have an issue date after 1 April will be able to be redeemed at any Post Office up to the 30 June.

You will need to bring the following items to the post office with you when redeeming your voucher:

• Your voucher
• Your identification
• Acceptable proof of address (this must match the account holder details on the voucher)
• If you are a Keypad customer – your top up card or the app you use to make payments
• Your bank card or your bank account details - to deposit the payment directly into your bank account at the post office counter.

For full details on what you’ll need to redeem, please visit gov.uk.