Find out about UK Government schemes to help Northern Ireland households with their energy costs over winter 2022/23. Help includes the Energy Bills Support Scheme, Energy Price Guarantee and the Alternative Fuel Payment.

Energy Bills Support Scheme

The Energy Bills Support Scheme will give a £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households to help with their electricity bills over winter 2022/23. Customers do not need to take any action to receive this support. 

Energy Price Guarantee

The Energy Price Guarantee will limit the amount you can be charged per unit of gas or electricity. Your exact bill will depend on how much energy you use.

You do not need to apply and there’s no need to contact your energy supplier. Your energy supplier will cut your bills by a unit price of up to 17p/kWh for electricity and 4.2p/kWh for natural gas.

For prepayment meter customers in Northern Ireland, the Energy Price Guarantee will be applied to the rate you pay for each unit of energy at the same rate as for all other customers. This is 17p/kWh for electricity and 4.2p/kWh for gas, so the money you put on the meter will last longer than would have been the case this winter.

£100 Alternative Fuels Payment 

Consumers in Northern Ireland who are not able to benefit from the Energy Price Guarantee for heating, such as those using heating oil, will receive an extra payment of £100 to help with fuel price increases.

You can find out more about energy support for households in Northern Ireland on the GOV.UK website:

• Energy bills support factsheet.