We understand how difficult it is at the minute with rising energy prices.
We've pulled together the latest news and information you need to help you through this
The government has announced today that the Energy Price Guarantee will remain at £2,500 a year for a typical household(1)for at least three months. However, please be aware that the government is ending the Energy Bills Support Scheme at the end of March. From April, you'll no longer get the £66/£67 payments you’ve received since October.
We're preparing our new 1 April prices and will contact customers soon.
We know things may be difficult at the moment, but you can depend on our support. If you're struggling to pay your energy bills, find advice and support in our help centre.
The announcement by the government means that customers will not see the 20% increase that could have happened if the government had decided to increase their Energy Price Guarantee level to £3,000 a year at typical use(1).
So how are prices set?
Currently, two rates are controlling what prices customers pay for their energy.
1. Ofgems' Energy Price Cap - since 1 January 2019, when the price cap was introduced, Ofgem, the energy regulator, has been reviewing the cap rate to make sure customers aren't paying higher rates than they should be. The cap is linked to wholesale prices, so if there is an increase as there has been since 2021, the price cap rate goes up, and so do customer bills. In the Summer of 2022, predictions showed that wholesale prices would go up to levels the energy market had never seen before. This is when the government stepped in and introduced its Energy Price Guarantee.
2. Government's Energy Price Guarantee - since October 2022, the Energy Price Guarantee has acted as a subsidy, meaning that a discount has been applied to the unit rates customers pay on their bills. If this had risen in April to around 3,000, then it was expected that customers could have seen an increase of around 40% in their bills.
The government have launched a cost-of-living assistance package to help customers with their energy bills. Please find more information about these schemes on their website.
This scheme is for all households across Great Britain using alternative fuels to heat their homes, such as biomass, liquified petroleum gas (LPG) or heating oil. This is a one-off payment of £200. You'll get your payments between 20 February and 28 February 2023. All energy suppliers will pay customers whose property has been identified by the government.
There may be a very small number of customers who aren't automatically eligible for the scheme. The government have opened their online application service.
Learn more about the scheme at Help with your energy bills: If you use alternative fuels for heating - GOV.UK(www.gov.uk)
How you'll receive your Alternative Fuel Payment
Payment method | How you'll receive your payment |
Budget Direct Debit | An automatic refund payment will be made within five working days of your normal payment date. This will be paid into the bank account your Direct Debit payments are taken from. Your Direct Debit amount will not change. |
Pay As You Go | An automatic credit will be paid onto your smart Pay As You Go meter. |
Prepayment | You'll get a cash voucher to top-up your key at a Post Office. You can receive this as a cash payment, or it can be added to your debit card. The voucher will be sent in the post to you between 20 February and 10 March 2023. |
Cash/Cheque and Direct Debit Whole Amount | If you pay for your energy by any of these methods, you'll get an automatic credit to your energy account between 20 February and 28 February 2023. |
If you'd like to learn more about the scheme, please go to Households, businesses and organisations off the gas grid to receive energy bill support over the coming weeks - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
We appreciate this is a challenging time. If you're struggling to pay, the best action is to contact us so we can help you. Find all the support available to help keep you on top of your payments.
Options include:
The new ECO4 scheme will run until March 2026. Eligible EDF customers can access a range of energy efficiency improvements that will help them improve their home's EPC rating to C or above.
Customers will need to take a package of energy efficiency improvements rather than just one. We're working on what these will be. Eligible customers will have a survey carried out on their homes to ensure their property is suitable for these improvements.
The Warm Home Discount Scheme (WHD) is a government-led scheme offering a one-off payment of £150 (inclusive of VAT) towards energy costs.
This year the scheme has changed. If you live in England or Wales you will not need to apply for the WHD rebate in 2022/23. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will contact you from October to December 2022 to tell you if you are eligible to receive the rebate automatically from us.
For customers living in Scotland
If you receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, on the qualifying date of 21 August 2022, you do not need to apply as you automatically qualify for the Warm Home Discount - Core Group 1 rebate.
If you do not qualify for the Warm Home Discount - Core Group 1 rebate you will need to apply. You can do this via our Warm Home Discount area.
Keep up to date on what's happening
If you're vulnerable our customer support fund could help you with electricity or gas bill debts, and provide essential white goods such as a fridge or cooker.
Step 1: Register for help from our Priority Services. To see how we can support you. We'll help make sure you're on the best energy tariff and see if we can save you money on your future energy bills.
Step 2: Apply for help from the Customer Support Fund on the Let's Talk website. You'll need to have your EDF account number and current energy debt balances ready, along with details of your household finances and vulnerability.
This winter, we've launched our Energy Hub Super Saver challenge(2). Each week throughout the winter, customers who take part will have the chance to secure a year's worth of free energy. If you're unable to have a smart meter installed, you'll still be able to take part!
We'll be contacting customers in need to help with services which may include things like
You may be eligible for certain grants and benefits if you:
Extra help with energy costs during the winter months
Cold Weather Payment (England and Wales) - Provides extra support for those who need it when the average temperature in your area you live in is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees celsius or below over seven consecutive days. You’ll get £25 for each 7-day period of very cold weather between 1 November and 31 March.
Winter Heating Payment (Scotland) - Is a yearly payment of £50 given out each winter to people who need extra support. The payment is made by Social Security Scotland, which assesses customers' eligibility. Most people get this automatically if they're eligible.
Winter Fuel Payment - If you were born on or before 26 September 1956, you could get between £250 and £600 to help you pay your heating bills. This is a one-off annual payment that gets made automatically if you're eligible.
Helping to keep out of debt
Third-party deductions or fuel direct payments - If you receive certain benefits, you can pay your energy bills or debt over time directly out of your benefits.
Extra support through the Household Support Fund - The government launched a £500m support fund in October 2021. Local councils were awarded extra funding to help customers through the winter. Anyone needing support should contact their local council who can help them access the fund. Read more about the funding and how it works.
You may be eligible for some additional cost of living support from the government.
It's important now, more than ever, to stay in control of your energy. With a smart meter and our free Energy Hub, you'll easily be able to track your energy usage and see where you can save so that you can lower your bills and your carbon footprint.
Smart benefits include:
Read our tips on energy saving at home. Some of these are easy to do and completely free.
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Ofgem estimates the typical household in Britain uses 2,900 kWh of electricity, 12,000 kWh of gas or 4,200 kWh for E7 annually.
Details to be released from October 2022 on how you can take part and the terms and conditions of the challenge. Don’t worry if we’re unable to offer you a smart meter or Energy Hub, you’ll still be able to take part.
To view your energy use and energy breakdown within Energy Hub, your smart meter must be commissioned and maintain connectivity with us. To see your energy breakdown, you’ll also need to complete an energy profile to help us build a picture of your energy habits. Energy Hub is accessible via MyAccount and the EDF app. It’s available to residential customers who have gas and electricity smart meters and both fuels on a single rate EDF tariff, or an electricity smart meter on a single rate EDF tariff. The electric smart meter must be commissioned. Multi-rate tariffs are currently not supported in Energy Hub.
There are lots of things we're doing to help make your electricity and gas payments more manageable. Take a look at our help and support page to get help if you're struggling to pay.
Energy Hub is accessible in MyAccount. It is available for residential smart metered customers that have both electricity and gas supplied by EDF on a single rate tariff, or those who are supplied electricity by EDF on a single rate tariff. The smart meter must also be commissioned.
Save up to £63 with Energy Hub. Savings estimated on a sample from Apr 20-Apr 22 of 1500 customers who started using Energy Hub with Energy Breakdown and logged in 5+ times between April 2021-April 2022. Costs based on Ofgem's typical annual consumption positioned against projected Standard (Variable) consumption costs of April 23-March 24. Ofgem estimates the typical household in Britain uses 2,900 kWh of electricity, 12,000 kWh of gas or 4,200 kWh for E7 annually.
sources:
Estimates based on a gas-heated detached home. Figures are based on fuel prices as of October 2022. Source: Energy Saving Trust for roof and loft insulation and cavity wall insulation.
UK Fuel Mix disclosure information, published by Government Department BEIS, recognises electricity from wind, solar and nuclear fuel produces zero carbon dioxide emissions at the point of generation.
The zero-carbon electricity purchased is supplied to the National Grid. Customers receive electricity via the National Grid, not directly from zero-carbon generators.
The below table summarises zero-carbon generation by company demonstrating EDF generating 34.3%. The data supporting the table below and the % values is sourced from a mixture of industry settlement data and the UK government renewable obligation database.
ZERO-CARBON GENERATION SUMMARY BY COMPANY | 2021 | 2021 | |
Supplier name | zero-carbon | GWh of zero-carbon electricity generation | % of overall zero-carbon electricity generation |
EDF | zero-carbon | 34,230 | 34.3% |
CENTRICA | zero-carbon | 8,248 | 8.3% |
RWE | zero-carbon | 3,958 | 4.0% |
E.on | zero-carbon | 982 | 1.0% |
SSE | zero-carbon | 4,770 | 4.8% |
ScottishPower | zero-carbon | 3,792 | 3.8% |
Drax | zero-carbon | - | - |
Orsted | zero-carbon | 7,798 | 7.8% |
EPH | zero-carbon | - | - |
Equinor | zero-carbon | 1,018 | 1.0% |
Vattenfall | zero-carbon | 1,468 | 1.5% |
Fred Olsen Renewables | zero-carbon | 698 | 0.7% |
Macquarie | zero-carbon | 2,926 | 2.9% |
Ventient Energy | zero-carbon | 482 | 0.5% |
Statkraft | zero-carbon | 303 | 0.3% |
Eneco | zero-carbon | 309 | 0.3% |
Falck Renewables | zero-carbon | 201 | 0.2% |
RES | zero-carbon | 228 | 0.2% |
SGRE | zero-carbon | 215 | 0.2% |
Greencoat | zero-carbon | 581 | 0.6% |
Community Windpower | zero-carbon | 283 | 0.3% |
OTHER | zero-carbon | 27,229 | 27.3% |
TOTAL | zero-carbon | 99,772 | 100% |