Energy support windfall for 3,000 Swansea households

The one-off grant is being targeted at those who have not already received help through the scheme set up last year where discounts were paid by the UK government direct to householders’ energy suppliers.

People eligible to get the grants have to apply direct to a UK Government website which will be administered locally by Swansea Council.

Since the start of 2022, 145,500 grants worth in excess of £21m have been paid through the council to city households facing the cost of living crisis and rising energy bills. The latest grant is worth a potential £1.2m.

Rob Stewart, Leader of the Council, said: “This latest grant will provide a measure of support to hard-pressed families who have not yet benefited from the UK Government’s energy costs discount schemes.

“It comes on top of steps the council took last month to allocate almost £720,000 more to householders who may have missed out on previous opportunities to get help with rising energy bills or the cost of living crisis.”

He added: “The only way to benefit from the latest grant offer from the UK Government is to apply through the website. I’d urge those who think they might benefit to take a look.”

The latest UK Government grant is known as the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) and is available only to those who did not receive support through the discount scheme paid to energy suppliers which was known as the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS).

Eligible applicants can only apply via a Gov.uk website and once initial checks have been made by the central government team, the applications will be passed to the council for further checks and will be responsible for issuing payments to those that are eligible.