Emily Berry of Utility Aid seeks support to counter the unintended consequences of the Energy Bills Support Scheme
At Utility Aid, we make it our business to know the latest energy news so we can guide and advise our customers. Initially, when we heard about the Energy Bills Support Scheme, we were overjoyed. For those that do not know about this scheme, it means domestic electricity customers in Great Britain will receive a £400 grant from the government which will appear as a credit from energy suppliers from October 2022 onwards. This will not need to be repaid.
We work with charities and not-for-profit organisations, so you may think that this does not apply to our customer-base. Although you would be correct in thinking this, as a lot of our customers are non-domestic, there is a type of customer that comes to mind when thinking about this scheme: housing associations. Housing associations procure energy for their tenants, often the most vulnerable and poorest people in society, and then recharge as part of their rent. This unfortunately means that the invoices will be in the name of the housing association rather than showing as the tenant’s name.
Our Sales Director, Sally-ann Beaver, began investigating immediately and the news so far hasn’t been great! There is definitely a grey area when it comes to households that do not have their energy supplied through a domestic supply contract. Unfortunately, having asked our advisory panel and energy suppliers for advice and guidance, it would appear that we must ask that those who are affected by this injustice, to lobby against OFGEM. As it stands the government are exploring the issue as they continue to develop the policy and gather more evidence through the consultation.
We want changes to the policy to happen as soon as possible for the sake of our customers and ask you to help us to apply pressure to make this change.