The rebate was brought in to help householders with soaring energy bills, but National Energy Action (NEA) warns that millions of pounds are yet to be claimed.

NEA argues that there are significant deficiencies of the scheme

On Friday 1st April an average of over 22 million domestic energy customers across Great Britain will see their home energy bills soar by £700 per year to almost £2,000. An increase of over 54%.

Over the last number of months, NEA has experienced a significant rise in the number of households seeking emergency support. Unfortunately, we expect this trend to continue as we believe as many as 40% of households might now be struggling due to the spiralling energy costs. Ahead of the upcoming Assembly Election, NEA are calling on politicians to commit to tackling the Energy Crisis head on. Below, we outline our key asks which we believe will assist in easing the pressures on vulnerable households in Northern Ireland, both in the short and longer term.

Chancellor urged to rethink ‘heat now, pay later’ rebate and protect low-income and vulnerable households from soaring energy bills.

Soaring increases mean the cost of heating an average home will have doubled in 18 months and the in fuel poverty will also soar from 4 million to 6.5 million households across the UK

This policy briefing highlights the positive steps that can be taken now by the UK Government and energy regulator Ofgem to respond to the current energy crisis and support vulnerable energy customers this winter. It is hoped that this will prompt policy interventions in advance of Ofgem announcing in February the next revision to the energy price cap.

Over the last number of weeks, we have experienced a significant rise in the number of households seeking emergency support for fuel poverty. We therefore welcome the launch of DfC’s Emergency Fuel Payment Scheme.

Martin Lewis from Money Saving Expert has announced he will donate £100,000 to help NEA increase its support to the most vulnerable as the Energy Crisis intensifies.