As the cost of living rises, the government has launched their Energy Bills Support Scheme. This includes a £400 energy bills grant provided to almost every household across the UK. The grant will help to tackle the cost of winter energy bills and will be payed in six monthly instalments from October 2022 – March 2023. It is non-repayable, so no need to worry about an increase in expenses next year.
The grant is set to apply to every household connected to the electricity grid. But will students be included in this? How you will receive it all depends on how you pay your bills.
Bills Company
If you use a bills company such as UniHomes or Fused, they should receive your £400 grant. This should be passed on to you as discounts from your monthly bills. The grant will be split across all of your housemates for the six-month period. This means that your household will see a bills reduction of £66 per month all together. If you live with five housemates, your personal discount will be £13 per month.
If your bills provider hasn’t been in touch to let you know how this will work, be sure to contact them. Your bills provider should pass this grant on to you as you are eligible for it.
Landlord
If you pay your landlord a monthly price which includes bills, your grant will most likely go straight to them. However, you are still entitled to this and you should see a deduction from your monthly payments.
The government press release states: “This also applies to students and other tenants renting properties with domestic electricity contracts from landlords where fixed energy costs are included in their rental charges. In these circumstances, landlords who resell energy to their tenants should pass the discounted payments on appropriately, in line with Ofgem rules to protect tenants.”
Make sure to contact your landlord to ensure that the grant will be passed on to you.
University Halls
Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of information as to whether the grant will apply to student halls. Hopefully there will be more information surrounding this before October.
In the meantime, contact your university or accommodation provider to see if they have anymore information. They may also have other grants or bursaries to help alleviate the cost of living, so ensure to take a look at these.