£100 heating oil payments to start in September

A Stormont scheme which will give eligible households a £100 voucher towards home heating oil costs will open for applications next month.

Around 340,000 lower-income households are expected to qualify for the payment which was first announced in March.

Applications will made via the NIdirect government website from Wednesday 9 September.

Meanwhile, a separate scheme will give all households around £50 off their electricity bills in October.

Successful applicants for the Home Heating Oil Support Scheme are expected to receive a payment card within 10 working days of applying.

There will be one card per address, and it will be set up so it can only be used at participating oil suppliers.

The scheme will be open for applications until 31 March 2027.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said his officials had "worked at pace to put in place a fair and robust system".

The scheme will be open to households with a combined income of £30,000 or less, or those on certain benefits including pension credit and PIP.

It is expected that 75% or more of applications will be processed automatically.

However, some people will have to provide additional information to show they qualify.

That is likely to include lower paid self-employed people who are not claiming any benefits.

Lyons said: "I would encourage anyone who may be eligible, or those assisting them, to review the eligibility criteria online and ensure they are ready to submit an application when the scheme opens."

Around two thirds of Northern Ireland households use home heating oil, by far the highest proportion of any UK region.

Unlike gas or electricity, the heating oil market is unregulated, meaning increases in wholesale costs are rapidly passed through to consumers.

At the start of the Iran conflict, that saw prices almost double in a matter of days.

Prices have since fallen back from their peak but are still around 50% higher than before the UK-Israeli attack on Iran.

The separate electricity payment will be paid automatically to both card payment and bank payment customers and will not require an application.

It is the Northern Ireland outworking of two schemes which apply in Great Britain, which has a separately regulated electricity market.

Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said she is working to finalise the details with the Treasury.

"Subject to the Treasury approval, the Department now intends to deliver a single combined payment to all households which will increase the cost-of-living support to over £50.

"It is anticipated this full amount will be paid from October."