If British households on prepayment meters do not redeem government vouchers before they expire in a month's time, they could miss out on up to £130m of support for their energy bills. The energy bills support scheme, which runs until 30 June, entitles all households to discounts of up to £400 on their bills. While those on direct debits and smart prepayment meters received the payments automatically, those on analogue prepay devices had to take their vouchers to a post office or PayPoint vendor to have the cash credited to their meter.
According to the government, only 83% of the vouchers, worth either £66 or £67, have been claimed out of the 11.6m vouchers issued by suppliers, with a total value of £780m. Data showed that London had the lowest rate of redemption for the sixth month in a row, with more than 650,000 vouchers still unused at the end of March. Since the launch of the scheme last autumn, data has consistently shown that between a fifth and a quarter of the prepay vouchers have been left unredeemed.
The prepay scheme is a component of a broader effort to assist British citizens with their energy expenses in the aftermath of Russia's incursion into Ukraine, which caused a rise in wholesale gas prices that was reflected in domestic bills. However, this support will not be available during the upcoming winter, indicating that consumers are unlikely to experience significant relief despite the recent decrease in prices.