Eligibility
To be eligible for EBSS Alternative Funding you must meet the following criteria on the date of your application:
- The dwelling for which support is being claimed is your sole or main residential address
- Your household is responsible for paying for energy used in the dwelling as part of a service charge, rent or other arrangement, and may, through these charges increasing have the impact of increased energy bills costs passed on to them between 1 October 2022 and 31 March 2023
- Your household is not eligible for or already receiving EBSS payments, either through the main EBSS scheme or the EBSS Alternative Funding, in whole or in part
- The household dwelling is not a business premises or other form of non-domestic premises, is used wholly or mainly for domestic purposes, with the exception of businesses whose main business activity is to provide long term residential accommodation (landlords, care homes, and similar). Only households, and not the businesses themselves, may apply for EBSS Alternative Funding
Eligible households will include:
- Self-funding residents in care homes.
- Residents of park homes.
- Housing association, social and private tenants, and leaseholders, supplied via a landlord with a commercial meter
- Households in house boats on residential moorings
- Households on a private electricity network, for example those supplied by a heat network
- Traveller households on authorised sites
- Off-grid households
- Households in non-permanent /supported accommodation
You can check your eligibility and apply online from 27 February 2023.
Prepayment checks will be carried out by HM Government and notification of the submitted application will be sent to you by the government via email or post.
Once we receive the application from the government, we will aim to process the payment into your bank account within 30 working days of receipt. We will only contact you if we require additional information to make a decision on your application. You do not have to contact us in the meantime.
A national helpline is available if you require assistance to complete the online form. Call the Assisted Digital Call Centre on 0808 175 3287 from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
Please note applications for the scheme will close on 31 May 2023.
Local authorities are required to share personal and non-personal data with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for the purpose of administering applications, monitoring and compliance. All data shared is compliant with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
The government may contact you for research purposes and your data will be shared with the BEIS and their appointed BEIS contractors for counter fraud, research and evaluation purposes. Your details will be held in a secure data system and you will not be contacted by any other third parties as a result. All research is voluntary and is not linked to the outcome of your application. You may withdraw your consent at any time if you change their mind. All contact details will be securely deleted from contractors’ systems after 2 years.
A further £200 Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) will be available for households using alternative fuels such as biomass or heating oil.
Most households eligible for the AFP support will receive payment automatically via their electricity supplier in February. Those households who will need to apply for the AFP, for example because they do not have a relationship with an electricity supplier, will be able to do so in February, through Gov.uk.
Further information about this scheme can be found on the government website.
Fraud and error
The government will not accept deliberate manipulation and fraud. Applicants found to be providing false information to gain support payments will face prosecution and any funding issued will be recovered, as may any payments paid in error.
Scam and fraud awareness
If you have received a scam message in relation to the EBSS Alternative Funding, please report it. It is very important that this is reported promptly. Please send a screen shot of the message to report@phishing.gov.uk so that action can be taken. Forward text messages to 7726, and report websites via the National Cyber Security Centre.