The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will be providing a £600 energy bills support payment to boat dwellers who were unable to receive payment through the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) and the Alternative Fuel Payment Alternative Fund (AFP AF).
Eligible households will need to have held a Canal & River Trust licence as a continuous cruiser while the EBSS AF scheme was open.
This support will be provided in the form of a single £600 voucher which will be sent out to all continuous cruisers in the coming weeks (further detail will be provided shortly). The £600 combines the £400 EBSS AF and the £200 AFP AF support, with no need to supply receipts for alternative fuel use.
To be eligible, each household will need to have held a Canal & River Trust licence as a continuous cruiser for a minimum of one day between 27 February 2023 (when the EBSS AF scheme launched) and 31 May 2023 (when the EBSS AF scheme closed) inclusive.
The vouchers will be sent via email but can be sent via SMS or letter to those customers who do not have an email address registered. Only Canal & River Trust licence holders who continuously cruise can be named on the voucher, and only the person who is named on the voucher will be able to redeem this.
To ensure the voucher is issued correctly and can be redeemed by the intended recipient, you must ensure that your details such as your email, phone number, and postal address, are up to date on the Canal & River Trust licensing portal by 21 August. This is to ensure that the voucher generated reaches the correct email address (or phone number for vouchers issued by SMS) to facilitate a swift redemption.
Further information on how to redeem the voucher will be provided alongside the voucher itself. If you have any queries regarding the scheme, please contact [email protected]. If you have any questions regarding your continuous cruiser licence, please contact us.
For further information and scheme updates, please visit the GOV.UK webpage for the scheme.
If you are not a boat dweller who holds a continuous cruiser license, you will have already received, or have been eligible to receive, support through the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) or the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF). If you use alternative fuels, you will have already received, or have been eligible to receive, support through the Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) or the Alternative Fuel Payment Alternative Fund (AFP AF).
If you have already received support through the Energy Bills Support Scheme (and the Alternative Funding), or the Alternative Fuel Payment (and the Alternative Fund) you are not eligible for this support.
