Cost of living: First households receive £600 energy voucher

The first £600 energy payment vouchers have been delivered to households in Northern Ireland.

One of the first people in Northern Ireland to receive the payment said it "couldn't have come at a better time".

Kellie Alexander, 46, from Ballybeen, County Down, received the single, one-off payment in her post on Saturday.

The first vouchers were posted on Friday and were not expected to arrive until Monday, but some arrived early.

Ms Alexander, a throat cancer survivor who uses a wheelchair, was one of the first to receive the payment.

"It couldn't have come at a better time... without it my meter would have been out on Monday morning," she told BBC News NI.

The Post Office said the first people to receive their vouchers were identified by electricity suppliers as meriting special treatment due to age, disability or chronic illness.

While the money is intended to help with rising energy costs, people will be able to use it however they want.

Ms Alexander, who shares a house with her partner who acts as her fulltime carer, has two adult sons who have disabilities.

She said she cashed her payment shortly after it arrived, using some to top up her gas and electricity and saving the rest for future expenses.

"You've always got that to fall back on for the weeks you don't have £20 to put on energy," she said.

She added that more needed to be done to help people struggling with the cost of living.

The voucher is made up of a £400 support payment announced in May and an additional £200 because of the high proportion of homes in Northern Ireland using heating oil.

The rollout will be staggered over the next four weeks and completed by the end of February.

The vouchers can either be deposited in a bank or credit union or redeemed for cash at the Post Office, but must be cashed in by 31 March 2023.

• Your £600 energy payment scheme questions answered

• Cost of living: What help is available in Northern Ireland?

The majority of vouchers are expected to start arriving from Monday.

They can only be redeemed at post offices and are being sent to all households who do not pay their energy bills by direct debit, which is estimated to be about 75% of customers in Northern Ireland.

People who pay for their electricity by direct debit will not get a voucher and instead the £600 will automatically be deposited in their bank account.

The first of these payments are also due from Monday.

For keypad customers, the letter will be addressed to "The Occupier".

Head of payments for the Post Office, Andrew Goddard, said: it was a major logistical exercise and the company was working hard to distribute the vouchers as quickly as possible.

"Please do read the voucher very carefully and ensure you take it, plus the forms of ID specified, to ensure the teams can process your voucher and you receive your money," he said.

"We also encourage customers to receive your money and deposit this straight into your bank account."

If customers are a Monzo Bank, Nationwide or credit union customer, they will not be able to transfer the voucher into their account at the post office and will need to bring photo ID, as detailed in the voucher, to receive the payment as cash.

What do I need to bring?

That depends on how you want to receive the payment and what sort of customer you are:

You will need:

• The voucher letter

• Proof of address e.g. utility bill, bank statement, government letter

• Photographic ID if you want to receive it as cash e.g. passport, driving licence

• Your bank card if you want to pay the funds straight into your bank account

• Your top up card or app if you are a keypad customer