Council Tax

Energy Bills Support Scheme - Alternative Funding (EBSS-AF)

Updated on 23 February 2023

Most households in England, Scotland and Wales get a £400 discount on their energy bills automatically. In some cases, you do not get the discount automatically, for example, if you are:

• park home residents
• housing association, social and private tenants, and leaseholders, supplied via a landlord with a commercial meter 
• partly and wholly self-funded care home residents  
• households in houseboats on residential moorings 
• households on a private electricity network, for example, those supplied by a heat network 
• off-grid households  
• traveller households on authorised sites  
• households who live in a dwelling on business premises that is used wholly or partly for domestic purposes 
• households in temporary/supported accommodation 

The eligibility criteria for this funding are:

• The household that supports is being claimed for is the main or only home address of the person to receive the support.
• The resident or applicant is responsible for paying the household energy bill. This means either directly or as part of a service charge, rent, or other arrangement and may have the impact of increased energy bills costs passed on to them between 1 October 2022 - 31 March 2023.
• The household is not already receiving EBSS payments in whole or in part.
• The household is not a business premises or other form of non-domestic premises. It must be used solely or mainly for domestic purposes. This is except for businesses whose main business activity is to provide long term residential accommodation (landlords, etc.).

The Government is funding the scheme and has opened an online application.

If you need help to apply

If you cannot apply online or need help with your application, contact the helpline team.

Email: alternativefunding@ebss.beis.gov.uk
Telephone: 0808 175 3287
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Find out about call charges

You do not need to contact the council regarding this scheme as it is funded by HM Government. All Councils are then being asked to make the £400 support payments to applicants through their bank accounts once the appropriate checks have been made. 

The scheme closes to new applications from 31 May 2023.

If you are eligible for the payment, your payment details will be shared with Coventry City Council to confirm your home address, residency, and where eligible, make payment.

Please note applications can take up to 30 days to be considered and awarded.

Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP)

You may be eligible for an additional £200 Alternative Fuels Payment (AFP) if both the following are true:

• your household is not connected to the mains gas grid
• you use alternative fuels as your main form of heating

This is on top of the £400 from your electricity supplier.

You’re eligible for this payment if the main way you heat your home uses:

• tank or bottled gas
• liquid petroleum gas (LPG)
• oil
• wood
• solid fuel

Most homes that are eligible for this payment will get it automatically as a credit on their electricity bills from February 2023.

You may not get the payment automatically if your home is either:

• in an area which is mainly connected to the gas grid
• not connected to either the gas or the electricity grid

If you do not get this payment automatically

You may have to apply for this payment through the AFP Alternative Fund if you do not get it automatically - for example, because you do not have a contract with an electricity supplier.

Find out about applications.

Find out more information regarding further financial support provided by Coventry City Council.

The Energy Rebate scheme closed on 30 November 2022. The Government have advised Local Authorities that no further payments or credits can be made to Council Tax accounts after this date.

For any eligible customers who have not received an Energy Rebate payment into either your bank account or have not cashed an Energy Rebate voucher, we have now credited your Council Tax account. If as a result of the rebate, your Council Tax account is in credit at the end of this financial year, this will be carried forward to the next year's Council tax bill 2023/2024.

Please be advised if you have already received the energy rebate, we will not be responding to these submitted forms. Any refund will be issued by cheque. This may take approximately 21 days to be issued.

Please ensure you have thoroughly checked your bank statements for the period of 19 April - 30 May 2022. The payment will show as being received from “Energy Rebate” and the amount will be for either £150.00 or £180.00 depending on your circumstances. If you are struggling financially please visit our Cost of living and wellbeing support webpages.

On 3 February 2022, the Government announced measures to support households in response to the rising costs of energy. One of the measures announced is a £150 payment to people occupying a home in Council Tax bands A – D (approximately 94 per cent of Coventry households).

More information from the Government.

Fraud alert

A process like this presents increased opportunities for criminals to attempt to obtain your personal information/bank details fraudulently. Please don’t provide your details to any cold contact you receive from anyone claiming to represent Coventry Council or offering to claim the rebate on your behalf. This webpage will be updated to confirm exactly how and when we will contact people. All correspondence will be from a verifiable email address or posted from the Council with a verifiable return address if required. We will not cold call people and ask for your bank details. If we have a need to contact you we will ask you data protection questions to ensure we are talking to the correct person and our staff will have access to your personal information and will therefore be able to prove they are a genuine Council employee.

Help and support

For more information on energy help and support, visit:

• Cost of living and wellbeing support
• Home energy and warmth webpages
• Act on energy

Privacy notice

Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) Alternative Funding privacy notice