£400 domestic energy support for more farm households

Farm households previously excluded from the government’s £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme because they did not have a domestic supply contract will be able to apply for alternative funding early next year.

This follows lobbying by rural groups, such as the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) and NFU, mainly on behalf of households with a commercial electricity contract which included their domestic supply.

This meant they were not entitled to the £400 help with domestic energy bills from which most households are already benefiting.

See also: Farmhouses could face soaring bills due to business tariffs

Applications for the new Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) will open in January for England, Scotland and Wales.

Those previously excluded will be able to submit their details online or through a telephone helpline.

Payments to households that meet the eligibility criteria, including those who are off-grid, will then be made by local authorities.

This is expected to provide the one-off, non-repayable support to more than 900,000 households.

There will be an additional £200 payment for those using alternative heating fuels, such as oil or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), but it is not yet clear how this will be put in place.

TFA chief executive George Dunn welcomed news of the change: “We have a large number of TFA members who fall outside the scope of the automatic Energy Bills Support Scheme due to their domestic supply coming via their commercial provider.

“We have been pressing the government to ensure that these farm households were added to the list of those who needed access to the scheme via an alternative approach.

“It is great news that these households now have a route into the scheme with details about how to apply expected in the new year.”

The NFU said it had met with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy a number of times and pushed for the change, briefing MPs ahead of a parliamentary debate in October on energy support for off-grid homes.

“We have raised soaring energy costs both in writing to the chancellor and business secretary, and NFU president Minette Batters mentioned it when she saw the chancellor last week at our Christmas reception,” said an NFU spokesman.

“Access to the £400 support will apply to members who don’t have a domestic electricity supply separate to the business supply to the farm. The additional £200 will be for those using oil for domestic heating.”

Higher payment in Northern Ireland

Separately, all households in Northern Ireland will receive a single, one-off £600 payment to help with their energy bills, irrespective of how they heat their home.

Payments will start in January 2023, made up of £400 under the Energy Bills Support Scheme Northern Ireland (EBSS NI), and £200 under the Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) scheme.

Electricity companies will be funded by the government for this payment to ensure quick administration, with payments to customers starting in January.