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

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

The handout aims to ensure that all homes benefit from the support announced by the government last autumn to combat rising energy costs.

Households that get their energy from the mains currently benefit from a price cap designed to keep the average energy bill at £2,500 a year. It will go up to £3,000 from April.

But an estimated two million homes are ‘off-grid’ and not connected to the gas network.

Instead, they use domestic fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas or alternative fuels such as a wood pellet biomass boiler to heat their homes. These households are eligible for the £200 AFP payment.

It is not means tested, so people of all incomes get the support. However, it is not as generous as the typical £900 annual savings enjoyed by mains gas households.

Many eligible homes will hopefully receive the money automatically this month through their existing electricity supplier as a credit to their account. But you’ll still need to keep a close eye on your accounts over the next few weeks to make sure the money owed has arrived.

Others, usually those who don’t have an electric bill or use oil from a tank despite living in an area served by the gas grid, must apply to get this payment.

For more information, visit the official Gov.uk website and tap on ‘alternative fuel payment’.

Applicants must provide their contact and bank details so that the funds can be deposited into their account.

However, households are cautioned not to provide this data to anyone who contacts them to request it out of the blue.

There are a number of scams near fraudsters who claim to be from an energy company or bank and then ask for bank details to make energy payments.