The £400 winter discounthas provided welcome financial relief to many these last few months but will stop at the end of March. The end of the scheme will be challenging for many as it comes at the same time as the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) is scheduled to rise from £2,500 to £3,000.
Discover our latest podcast
From 1 April, the £400 discount draws to an end and energy bills could increase despite the warmer weather. However, recent reports show that the chancellor may actually extend the EPG at current levels for another three months to help ease the transition, as per the BBC.
£400 Winter Discount
The winter discount was brought in to help with the cost of living crisis and was made up of six instalments. The first two, made in October and November, were worth £66. The following four were worth £67 with the final payment being made this month.
Fuel poverty campaigners have said the number of households struggling to afford bills could increase from 6.7 million to 8.4 million due to the rise in the EPG and the removal of the winter discount.
Recent reports that the price guarantee may be extended for three months make no mention of the energy discount being extended despite pressure on the government to help struggling households.
Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said, as per the BBC:
Families are really worried about prices soaring in April and so it's urgent the government gives them reassurance now, and extends the windfall tax on oil and gas giants to give them support for their energy bills as Labour would.
Read more:
⋙ Brits issued weather alert over 'freezing conditions' for 3 days, here's how to stay safe
⋙ Hundreds of thousands urged to apply for £400 support payment, here's how to do it
This winter households will get £400 off energy bills.
— HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) November 2, 2022
You don't need to do anything to access this support, it will be automatically deducted from your bill:
October - £66
November - £66
December - £67
January - £67
February - £67
March - £67
Click below to find out more ⬇️
Read more:
⋙ Thousands have missed energy support payment, here's how you can claim it
Energy Price Calculator
The average household will see their energy bills go from £2,500 a year to £3,000 a year but this is just an average figure and may not be an indication of your household’s bill. In order to get a better idea of how the changes will affect your household, Martin Lewis has unveiled a new online calculatorthat can give you an estimation of how much your bills might increase next month, as per Money Saving Expert.
The calculator will predict bill increases based on the EPG going up to £3,000 a year despite recent reports that it may be extended. If it does go up as originally planned, it is still lower than April's Energy Price Cap so that will be what average households can expect to pay.
The calculator is being updated regularly as the changes take place so you may get different results depending when you use it. The estimation is for those in England, Scotland and Wales and for standard tariffs under the Price Guarantee and not fixed deals.
The price cap affects roughly 22 million people on default or standard tariffs offered by the country's energy providers, according to Ofgem figures, as per The Sun.
If you are still struggling with your energy bills it’s worth contacting your provider to see what help they can offer. Many energy companies are offering customer grants, including British Gas, Scottish Power, Ovo, E.ON, EDF and Bulb Energy.
Sources used:
- The Sun 'CASH CUT When does the energy bill support end?'
- The Sun 'TAKE NOTE Martin Lewis’ MSE urges everyone to use energy price rise calculator to reveal how much YOUR bill is going up by'
- Money Saving Expert 'Energy Price Guarantee calculator – how much will I pay from April?'
- BBC 'Energy Price Guarantee expected to continue at same level in April'
