Howdy @Swac3 ,

I’m one of the forum volunteers here. I don’t work for OVO or the government myself.

It’s not been made clear I’m afraid. But my guess is some kind of data matching will be used to compare notes against various systems.

Aye just have to wait and see, it's welcome though, our previous bill was 460 for a 1000 litre fill, post the recent rises our last fill was triple that and domestic heating oil isn't  regulator capped at all its pure market price. 

Wow, that’s a lot!

How long does that normally last you?

Really depends on how bad the winter is  likely 3 fills a year 2 over the winter then the other lasts right through till late autumn as its feeding an A rated combi so the water heating is minimal, it's when trying to keep an old stone 1890s farmhouse in the North of Scotland warm thats painful.  The roofs insulated and we did the kitchen walls when we renovated that but it's  solid uninsulated floors and lath and plaster finish walls so can't cavity fill those.  Really the only option for improving that would be dig out the entire ground floor and pull down all the internal lath and plaster and reframe insulate and re board/plaster.   Substantial outlay we just don't have

Government Payment for Alternative Fuels (like heating oil)

The Government has now confirmed details about how the ‘Alternative Fuel’ payments (AFP) will be made. This includes households without a direct relationship to an energy supplier. 

Information taken from the GOV website where you can find the latest updates on this topic

We have now received the supply numbers (MPANs) of eligible customers from The Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and will be issuing a communication to these customers as soon as possible to inform them that they will receive the Alternative Fuel Payments (AFP) support.

AFP support will be issued as per the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) payments, so by either a payment to the customer's bank account, if paid by direct debit or as credit added to their energy account if they pay on demand.

For PAYG customers credit will be added directly to the customer's smart prepayment meter; or a cash voucher issued if it’s a traditional meter. We intend on adding a note to OVO customer accounts to make it clear that they have been deemed as eligible by BEIS. So if you don’t receive a communication from us, Support should be able to advise if you have been deemed eligible or not. 

We’re planning to start making these payments from 13 February, if you’re looking for more information on the AFP or on wider ‘Help For Households’ support schemes, can find this here. 

Energy bills support in England, Scotland and Wales will be via ‘EBSS Alternative Funding’ and ‘Alternative Fuel Payments’

• People in England, Scotland and Wales without a direct relationship to a domestic energy supplier, will receive a £400 discount on their fuel bills through the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS Alternative Funding).

• The government is also providing a further £200 Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) to help those households in England, Scotland and Wales who use alternative fuels such as biomass or heating oil to heat their homes this winter. Most households eligible for the AFP support in UK, will receive the payment automatically via their electricity supplier in February, with no need to take any action.

• However, households who will need to apply for the AFP, for example because they do not have a relationship with an electricity supplier, will be able to do so in February, through the same GOV.UK portal as the one that will be used to apply for support under the EBSS Alternative Funding scheme.

“Online applications will open in January for households in England, Scotland and Wales who are eligible for the £400 EBSS Alternative Funding to submit their details, alongside a helpline for those without online access. Payments to households that meet the eligibility criteria – including people who get their energy through a commercial contract or who are off-grid – will be made by local authorities in Great Britain. This is likely to include:

• care home residents
• residents of park homes
• tenants in certain private and social rented homes
• homes supplied via private wires
• residents of caravans and houseboats on registered sites
• farmers living in domestic farmhouses
• off-grid households”

Ahh, okie. 

Thanks Emmanuelle

Hi,

I do not have gas for heating, I use an oil fired boiler. I am informed that the government support scheme is to pay us “oil users” £100 through our electricity supplier!!

Does anyone know yet how this will work? What do I need in order to verify that I am an “oil user” so that OVO may pay me the government’s £100 ?

I assume it will credit to my electricity account balance ?

Thanks for any advice/opinions

PhilipJ

Hi @PhilipJ451

No news yet on the industry wide basis unfortunately. But further info will be posted when it becomes available. 

Also keep an eye on this government webpage which is regularly refreshed with information. It includes the £100 scheme 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support/energy-bills-support-factsheet-8-september-2022

Any update on this subject ?

Yes…

Alternative Fuels Payment. 

Vital help with energy bills on the way for millions more homes across Great Britain and Northern Ireland - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Oil and biofuels users should get £200 from their energy companies 

From that webpage:

The vast majority of households eligible for the Alternative Fuel Payment scheme in Great Britain will receive payment automatically via their electricity supplier with no need to take any action.

Hold tight - may be another bumpy ride ahead……

Last week, they were saying the funding would come ‘in the New Year’. Now, they’re saying “Most households eligible for the AFP support in Great Britain, will receive payment automatically via their electricity supplier in February, with no need to take any action.“ 

That’s from the same page, extraneous comma included.

In other words - don’t hold your breath, government not really interested AFP.

Yeah I heard this yesterday from the oil supplier websites. Unfortunatly they still don’t know: How will my electricity supplier know that I qualify for this payment? I’ve bought my oil supply for the winter and I’ve kept the receipt but what if I have to get something extra from the oil supplier to present to OVO to qualify?

regards

PhilipJ

Two topics on this recently. It’s on my list to check and come back here with a update!

I am a customer of OVO. I heat my house with heating oil. I understand that my electricity account will receive a credit of £200 but cannot find out how I could make a claim. Help?

Thank you but how will OVO or government know that I use oil.

There’s more about it here but I’m not sure if there’s any definitive statement about how this is signalled so far. 
 

So government decide that help is appropriate. They confirm that electricity suppliers will make the payments but have no idea how to organise. Not good.

@Firedog did you find anything else about this?

Nor sure what you mean?

Sorry @iansim . Just calling on another customer who I believe has alternative heating fuel. 
I should have explained 

I think this could well be spot on. I've yet to see anyone come up with how suppliers will know who has alternative fuels, which may explain the lack of information available.

Thanks all Lets give them another month to scratch their heads. Without meaning to be political this seems to be a microcosm of our current national problems.

ignore me 

No. It’s clear that there’s no need for ordinary eligible households to apply, and the £200 payment should come in February. Only those in GB who have neither a gas supply nor an electricity supply will have to apply, starting next month. I can’t see that the web form for applications has gone live yet; it will allegedly appear as an option at Help for Households - Get government cost of living support in due course.