According to some estimates, the price cap could reach almost £4,000 by January. The £400 rebate administered by energy suppliers and paid to consumers over six months looks set to soften the blow. But a charity has warned that some households are at risk of losing out While those who use home electricity meter points and pay for their energy via standard credit will receive an automatic payment, for others, it’s not so simple. For traditional prepaid meter customers, they will receive Energy bill discount vouchers for the week of each month via SMS, email or post, using the customer’s registered contact details. Customers should make sure to redeem them at the usual top-up point. Many households using prepaid meters include some of the most vulnerable in the country, who have been pushed to the brink of fuel poverty by the crisis. Maureen Fildes, from National Energy Action, fears that these households may struggle to redeem these vouchers. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don’t think this will be enough to help people cope with the cost of living this winter. “A lot of people on prepaid meters don’t have a lot of interaction with the energy supplier. they simply fill in as and when needed. READ MORE: Gold Viking ring found in ‘cheap jewelry’ This will then rise to £67 every month from December to March 2023. Energy Secretary Greg Hunts said: “I’m encouraging families across the country to get on board with these plans and particularly those customers with traditional pre-paid meters who need to take action. “Combined with world-leading action to fundamentally strengthen our domestic energy security, we will continue to stand by British consumers now and into the future.” There are many other areas where the government is trying to help the most vulnerable households amid the cost of living crisis. But critics have hit out at Westminster’s “slowness” to intervene in the face of the price cap announcements. Mike Foster, head of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, told Express.co.uk: “Government intervention to tackle the price cap has been too slow because as soon as the price cap is announced by Ofgem, suppliers immediately increase direct their charges. “The majority of accounts pay on a fixed charge, so we pay the increased cost before the price cap even kicks in because the annual adjustments are made on the direct charge. “We were warned that this was going to happen before there was any revenue for us as consumers. “The government needs to think a little harder to get things right when Ofgem announces its latest price cap change, which will be in a couple of weeks.”
