Claim Your Energy Voucher Day launches final push to get remaining £130 million in support to prepayment meter customers

Electricity suppliers, charities and consumer groups are today joining forces with government for Claim Your Energy Voucher Day – a call to arms to make sure households with traditional prepayment meters avoid missing out on £400 worth of help with their bills.

With £130 million of government support left to claim, well recognised names backing the day include Which?, National Energy Action and Fuel Bank Foundation, as the sector comes together in a final push to get remaining households to use their energy bill vouchers worth up to £400.

Recent figures show the number of vouchers cashed in has reached an all-time high, with over 83% of vouchers now used. However, with a month left of the scheme, the government is renewing its efforts to see as many vouchers redeemed as possible.

Over the last week government adverts have been landing in hundreds of newspapers, bus stops, Post Offices, train station billboards and elsewhere across the country to let those on traditional prepayment meters know how to claim the support.

Prepayment meter users, who are often in low-income households, have so far claimed nearly £650 million under the government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme. This means vital help is getting out to those that need it most, which direct debit customers received automatically over the winter – bringing the total delivered through the scheme to £11.5 billion.

Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability Amanda Solloway said:

We’ve made huge strides in getting nearly £650 million from our Energy Bills Support Scheme out to prepayment meter customers, often in the homes that need it most.

Today we are redoubling our efforts to reach anyone who still hasn’t claimed this help, and it’s fantastic to see so many join our final push to spread the word.

Tell friends and family or anyone on a traditional prepayment meter to use their vouchers for up to £400 off bills before 30 June – there is still £130 million out there to claim.

Ministers are leading a rallying call for customers to head to a Post Office or PayPoint with their Energy Bills Support vouchers and ID before 30 June, so everyone can get the help available.

Charities and consumer groups have also voiced their support to help spread the word, as part of Claim Your Energy Voucher Day:

Emily Seymour, Which? Energy Editor, said:

It’s positive that over 80 per cent of Energy Bills Support Scheme vouchers for traditional prepayment meter customers – who are often on lower incomes – have now been redeemed.

However, there are still lots of households that will be missing out on much-needed financial support. We’d strongly encourage anyone who hasn’t yet redeemed their vouchers to do so before 30 June, so they don’t miss out on extra help unnecessarily.

It’s also important to remember that any lost, missing or expired vouchers can be reissued, as long as they are redeemed by 30 June 2023. If you are on a traditional prepayment meter and haven’t received your vouchers, are unsure of how to redeem them, or need a voucher to be reissued, you should get in touch with your supplier for more information.

Adam Scorer, chief executive, National Energy Action (NEA), says:

As energy bills have spiralled, National Energy Action knows how crucial the Government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme has been. The £400, paid in six instalments of £66 or £67 has helped many people this winter.

But prepayment customers – often some of the most vulnerable – were paid in vouchers and millions remains unclaimed. Some customers didn’t receive them, others struggled to redeem them.

We urge anyone who hasn’t yet claimed their vouchers to do so before the 30 June deadline and if you have friends and family that may not have used their vouchers, spread the word. It may be the support that keeps their lights on, their oven cooking, their hot showers running, through the summer. It’s vital money at a time when it’s never been needed more.

Matthew Cole, head of Fuel Bank Foundation, the national charity that provides emergency fuel vouchers to PPM customers, said:

We’re really concerned that hundreds of thousands of people with traditional prepayment meters are going to miss out on this vital financial support. There is a lot of misinformation circulating on who is eligible to claim the EBSS vouchers and how to redeem them, which is why campaigns such as this are really important.

As part of our own campaigning on this issue, we found that other reasons why vouchers haven’t been redeemed included not receiving them, due to incorrect details or the person having moved house and their records haven’t been updated, or they lost or deleted the voucher.

However, whatever the reason, we want to reassure people that if they haven’t claimed their EBSS voucher, there is still time to do so.

Today marks a final push in the government’s multi-billion-pound intervention, that protected families and homes over the winter, by covering nearly half a typical household’s energy bill. It comes after news last week that energy costs will fall by £430 per year on average from July, under the Energy Price Cap – marking a major milestone in the government’s efforts to halve inflation.

Latest figures, published earlier this month, show that for the sixth month in a row London had the lowest redemption rate, with more than 650,000 vouchers still unused at the end of March. Around 25% of vouchers in both Scotland and the South East of England are also yet to be claimed.

In a further drive to boost numbers, posters and reminders are popping up throughout the country, with details of what people need to do to claim up to 6 vouchers, each worth between £66 and £67, and get their energy bill discounts before the 30 June deadline.

Customers are urged to contact their electricity supplier as soon as possible over the next few weeks, if they have any issues with their vouchers.

Households using prepayment meters who use alternative fuels such as LPG, heating oil or biomass as the main way they heat their homes also have until 30 June to use their vouchers worth up to £200 in energy bills support. Customers will have received these vouchers in the post from their supplier and should contact them if they have any questions.

Today’s message to customers comes after months of campaigning from the government, consumer groups and energy suppliers to help prepayment meter households trade in their energy bills support vouchers, with some going door-to-door to spread the word. Londoners benefited from government pop-up events, in partnership with the Post Office and Citizen’s Advice – while adverts also ran across community radios, social media, national magazines and billboard vans roaming towns and cities across the country.

Notes to Editor:

• More information on the latest figures for Energy Bills Support Scheme vouchers are available here.
• Vouchers have been sent by electricity suppliers to prepayment meter users to provide the Energy Bills Support Scheme. There are 6 vouchers, each worth £66/67, providing total support of £400. All vouchers will expire on 30 June.