You can still claim £200 even if you don’t use gas

Millions of households that do not use mains gas for their heating can claim a one-off refund of £200 as part of an Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) scheme from this month.

The handout is to ensure that all homes benefit from the support announced by the Government last autumn to combat the soaring cost of energy.

Households that get their energy from the mains are currently benefiting from a price cap designed to keep the average energy bill at £2,500 a year. From April it is going to rise to £3,000.

But an estimated two million homes are ‘off-grid’ and not hooked up to mains gas.

They use domestic heating oil, liquid petroleum gas or alternative fuels such as a biomass boiler fuelled by wood pellets, to heat their home instead. These households are eligible for the £200 AFP payment.

It is not means-tested so people on all incomes will get the support. However, it is not as generous as the typical yearly saving of £900 enjoyed by households that receive mains gas.

Many eligible homes will hopefully receive the money automatically through their existing electricity supplier as a credit on to their bill this month. But you should still keep a sharp eye on your bills in the coming weeks to make sure the money owed has arrived.

Others, typically those who do not have an electricity account or use oil from a tank despite living in an area served by mains gas, must apply to get this payment.

For further details visit the official Gov.uk website and tap in ‘alternative fuel payment’.

Applicants will have to provide their contact and bank details so the money can be paid into their account.

However, households are being warned not to provide these details to anyone who gets in contact to ask for them out of the blue.

There are a number of scams around from fraudsters purporting to be from an energy firm or bank and then asking for bank details to make energy payments.