Britain
Britain
£100 energy payment: who qualifies and when it starts
The £100 energy payment announced in the Budget will start from January 2027 for eligible homes in England. The government calls it the Household Energy Payment, with council tax bands A to D forming the main eligibility test.
UK electricity meter, July 2026 archive image. Photo: SpicyPhoto / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Resized; Banner branding added.
Councils will pay eligible direct-debit households automatically. Those who do not pay council tax by direct debit will receive an invitation to apply. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will decide how to use separate funding for similar support.
Who qualifies for the £100 energy payment?
Households must live in, and be liable for council tax on, a property in bands A to D in England as their main home, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The guidance includes most households exempt from council tax. However, the government has yet to publish the full eligibility criteria for those households.
Second homes, empty properties and households where the householder is not responsible for paying council tax do not qualify.
When will the energy payment arrive?
Payments start from January 2027. The guidance does not give each household an individual payment date.
Eligible households paying council tax by direct debit do not need to act: the council will pay the money into their bank account. Councils will invite other eligible households to apply directly.
Only the local council should contact a household asking it to claim. The government advises people to check directly with their council if they are unsure about a message, before giving out personal information.
What happens in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
The published scheme applies to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive additional funding. Their governments will decide how to provide similar support based on local needs.
Residents in those nations should check their government’s confirmed arrangements for eligibility and payment details.
Support outside council tax bands A to D
Councils will receive an extra £100 million for discretionary support for households that do not qualify for the main payment. Each council will set its own criteria and publish application details once local arrangements are in place.
The discretionary fund does not guarantee £100 to every excluded household. Check the council’s website for its eligibility rules.
The payment is separate from the cap on energy rates. Our October energy cap guide explains why a typical annual bill figure is not a limit on every household’s spending.
Source: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero guidance, published 28 October 2026.
