Energy support scheme: Final push by suppliers to deliver £600 payment

All Northern Ireland's energy suppliers have now made a first attempt to deliver £600 energy support payments to customers, the UK government has said.

Households have until end of March to redeem vouchers issued under the scheme.

The roll-out of payments started in mid-January with vouchers due to have been received by 28 February.

The government advises anyone who has not now received the £600 to contact their electricity supplier.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: "First attempts for all payments for Energy Bills Support Scheme and Alternative Fuel Payment Northern Ireland (EBSS AFP NI) have now been made."

According to data from the Post Office, the department said, the vast majority of vouchers have been redeemed.

Suppliers will follow up where this first attempt has not been successful, it said.

• More households now eligible for £600 payment

• Your £600 energy payment scheme questions answered

The department added that suppliers will provide monitoring data to the department and that will be published in March.

Half a million households across Northern Ireland will receive the government support to help with the cost of living and rising energy bills.

How you receive your money will depend on how you pay your electricity bill.

If you pay by direct debit, the money will go straight into your bank account.

All other households will receive a voucher in the post which can be redeemed at a post office.

BBC News NI has asked all five electricity suppliers in Northern Ireland how many vouchers are still outstanding:

• Power NI - 431,485 customers have successfully received payment and 89% of vouchers have been redeemed. 90% of overall customer base have received their £600

• SSE Airtricity - All SSE Airtricity customers have had their vouchers issued and about 90% of those have been redeemed

• Electric Ireland: A small number of customers have yet to receive their voucher. Electric Ireland is working to get vouchers to them. A number of customers still have to redeem their voucher

• Budget Energy - All vouchers (more than 73,000) have been issued and 95% have been redeemed. A total of 89 exceptional cases, where the vouchers have not arrived for some reason or have been damaged, are now being looked at

• Click Energy - All vouchers have been issued, with approximately 95% redeemed. There are approximately 1,000 outstanding vouchers, relating to either vacant properties, address miss-matches or lost vouchers