Energy payment: £600 voucher can be redeemed at Post Office
- Published
People with no direct debit arrangement and those with a prepaid meter will receive the voucher from their energy supplier which can then be redeemed at their local post office
Households in Northern Ireland will be able to redeem the £600 energy discount voucher at the Post Office.
People with no direct debit arrangements and those with a prepaid meter will receive the voucher from their energy supplier which can then be redeemed at their local Post Office.
Direct debit customers will not get a voucher, but will be paid directly into their bank accounts by their suppliers.
The UK government has confirmed payments will start in mid-January.
Those who pay quarterly or use a pre-payment meter - about 500,000 people in Northern Ireland - will receive their vouchers in the post.
The vouchers can then either be deposited in a bank or credit union, or where needed as cash at a post office.
People will need to take the relevant ID and documentation with them. These include your voucher letter, the correct proof of address and photo identification.
Chief executive at the Post Office Nick Read said the 500 Post Office branches across Northern Ireland are "preparing for the vital role they will play in getting people the £600 support they are entitled to".
"It's vital that anyone who doesn't pay for their energy usage by direct debit, or have a prepaid meter, looks out for their voucher in the post," Mr Read said.
"Before coming to the Post Office, make sure to bring your letter, the correct proof of address and photo identification as this will speed things up in branch."
The £600 payment is being delivered by the UK government in the absence of Stormont
The payment, which is part of a UK-wide energy payment scheme, has been delayed in Northern Ireland.
The money is intended to help with energy bills but people can use the cash payment as they see fit.
The payment is being delivered by the UK government in the absence of Stormont.
As it is a universal scheme people who pay a bill at a second home, such as a holiday home, will be paid twice.
Chris Heaton-Harris says further clarity around the scheme will give reassurance to NI households
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris welcomed the latest announcement and said he hoped it "provides further reassurance as we enter the new year".
He said vouchers will come in the form of letters, will carry badges of the relevant electricity supplier and the UK government, and will contain a barcode. Customers will not be asked to go online or to provide any details.
"The easiest way people can redeem their voucher will be paying the money directly into their bank account by taking their bank card to the Post Office and requesting to deposit," he said.
"For those without a bank or credit union account, going to the Post Office and redeeming for cash will be an option - but that will be subject to the branch having the cash available."
'Complexity'
The £600 support combines two payments.
A £400 payment was initially promised by the UK government for all households to help them to deal with rising prices for gas and electricity.
A further £200 payment was announced in November because of the proportion of homes in Northern Ireland that use home heating oil.
People in Great Britain began receiving the £400 in October, but there had been a lot of uncertainty about when and how the energy support payments would be delivered in Northern Ireland.
The UK government said this announcement now means people in Northern Ireland would receive the full £600 before households in Great Britain.
Northern Ireland differs from the rest of the UK because it has its own energy market with its own rules and regulation.
Price cap
Last month, energy companies in Northern Ireland reduced energy prices for customers as a consequence of the Energy Price Guarantee.
The UK government scheme caps the price for a unit of gas and electricity until April 2023.
Householders still pay for all the gas and electricity they use but the guarantee limits the price that suppliers can charge for each unit of energy.
The UK government previously said homes using a typical amount of gas an electricity would pay £2,500 per year.
The range of measures have been introduced to help deal with the cost-of-living crisis.
Energy costs have soared because the conflict in Ukraine has reduced supplies of Russian gas.
Prices also rose because demand for energy rocketed after Covid restrictions ended.
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