Government Electricity Rebate

Overview

This consultation was carried out by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. In July 2016, the department merged with the Department for Business and Innovation and Skills to form the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Government Electricity Rebate (GER)

In December 2013, Government announced a package of measures which will reduce domestic energy bills by £50 on average over the next two years.

We are consulting on one part of this package of measures, the Government Electricity Rebate (GER). As proposed in the consultation, it will provide a £12 rebate to domestic electricity account holders in Great Britain.

What it is and who is eligible?

The GER scheme is currently proposed to run for a two year period over 2014/15 and 2015/16. All domestic customers of licensed electricity suppliers are eligible and will be provided with the rebate by their electricity supplier.  The two year GER scheme is being funded by Government. Suppliers will apply the rebate to customers’ accounts and Government will reimburse them for the value of the rebates they have paid out. GER will cost around £620m (£310m per year) to pay approximately 27 million households over 2014/15 - 2015/16.  Electricity suppliers will provide the GER directly to their domestic electricity customers regardless of their payment method

The proposed delivery requirements mean that suppliers will have to start crediting customers in October and finish this process within 6 weeks.  Customers will see the credit on their next bill, statement or prepayment receipt after the credit has been applied.

Why your views matter

Consultation

We are consulting on delivery requirements for the GER to ensure that the rebate can be delivered as efficiently and effectively as possible.