Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS) Alternative Funding

This winter, most households automatically received a £400 payment towards their energy bills through the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS).

The EBSS Alternative Funding provides support to households not eligible for the automatic payment.

You may qualify for an EBSS Alternative Funding payment if you are:

• a park home resident and you pay the site owner for your electricity
• a housing association, social sector or private tenant or leaseholder, where your electricity is supplied by your landlord through a commercial meter
• a care home resident who has to pay some or all of the cost of your care
• living in a houseboat on a residential mooring
• on a private electricity network, for example you are supplied by a heat network
• an off-grid household
• a traveller household on an authorised site
• a household living in a dwelling on business premises that is used wholly or partly for domestic purposes, for example a farmhouse or a flat above a shop
• a household in temporary or supported accommodation

This scheme is being led and funded by HM Government with support to make payments from Gateshead Council. To apply for a £400 EBSS Alternative Funding payment, an application must be made online through the gov.uk website (opens new window) . You should read the more detailed information about the types of households that can apply for a payment and all of the eligibility criteria on gov.uk before making your application.

The latest date you can submit your application is 31 May 2023.

Gateshead Council cannot accept direct applications from residents. You must apply through gov.uk using the link below or if you're unable to use the digital service, you can call the national helpline on 0808 175 3287. Their phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.

Completed applications will automatically be passed to Gateshead Council to check all eligibility criteria have been met and issue a payment of £400.  Payments can only be made direct to a personal bank account in the applicant's name. The application form will give more information about this. 

Apply for energy bill support (opens new window)

If you need to supply more information

You may be asked to supply further evidence to support your application. This can be an email including a scanned copy or digital photograph of the documents we have asked for. Your email should be sent to energyrebate@gateshead.gov.uk and include your full name, the first line of your address and your postcode.

How your data will be used

HM Government and Gateshead Council will need to share data about your application.  This is to ensure that we make accurate payments and to allow HM Government to monitor the EBSS Alternative Funding. 

If you would like more information about how your data will be shared and used as part of your application, you will find this in the privacy notice (opens new window) which covers the scheme.