Allow consumers the right to refuse the £200 energy rebate

Stop forcing people to accept a loan for energy without the right of refusal. This will put more strain on many financially and mentally. Make it fair for people and research a better payment plan that doesn't discriminate against children leaving home and relationship breakdown

They will make a lot of money by charging £40 per annum to every consumer even if that consumer didn't have this £200 loan eg- child at home goes to uni and now owes £200 they didn't borrow as they were not the billed consumer at the time the loan was issued, ditto to relationship breakdown, both parties will be paying the whole amount even though they live apart ergo £200 borrowed £400 repaid.

On 3 February 2022 the Chancellor announced a package of support worth £9.1bn to help all domestic energy customers with the costs of rising energy bills.

To spread the cost of the energy price shock, from October 2022 the government will provide funding to all energy suppliers to pass a £200 reduction on to domestic electricity customers’ bills. This will be recouped through energy bills over five years from 2023.

The government will not profit from this scheme. The amount recouped by the government over five years from 2023 will be no greater than the sum paid out to consumers from October 2022.

We would like to emphasize the bill reduction is not a loan, rather, it is a grant which will be delivered to households by their energy supplier to help reduce the burden of energy bills from October. It does not create a liability for any individual. There is no interest due on it, no debt attached to it, and it will not affect recipients’ credit rating. It is a grant now with a levy on future bill payers.

Allowing consumers to opt out of receiving the reduction on their bills would likely increase the administrative costs of the scheme.

We know that there will be different considerations for consumers depending on their circumstances and the way in which they pay their energy bills. We will continue to work with consumer groups and electricity suppliers to ensure that we deliver the scheme in a convenient way to all eligible customers.

The policy details of the scheme are still being developed. The public consultation, issued on 11 April, will close on 23 May 2022. The government response is expected to be published in the summer.

The consultation can be accessed at https://beisgovuk.citizenspace.com/ccp/energy-bills-support-scheme.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy