THE government has announced how all households in England, Scotland and Wales will receive £400 to help with rising fuel bills this autumn reports the BBC.

The money, part of the Energy Bill Support Scheme, will be paid in six instalments.

Households will see a discount of £66 applied to their energy bills in October and November, and £67 a month from December to March 2023.

But how the money is received will depend on how you pay your bill.

Customers paying by direct debit, either monthly or quarterly, will see an automatic deduction off those bills.

Those with “smart” pre-payment devices will see an automatic monthly top-up added to their account, meaning they will have to add less credit to their meter for the total energy they use.

But those with older “non-smart” pre-payment devices will not get this money automatically.

Instead, they will receive an energy bill discount voucher in the first week of each month, via text, email or in the post. Customers will have to redeem these in person at their usual top-up point, such as a local Post Office.

“While no government can control global gas prices, we have a responsibility to step in where we can and this significant £400 discount on energy bills we’re providing will go some way to help millions of families over the colder months,” said Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.

More than four million households use pre-payment meters in Britain, according to the energy regulator Ofgem. Less than half of those meters – 1.9 million – are smart devices that will allow this payment to be made quickly and easily.

Charities are concerned that for the more than two million households with traditional non-smart prepayment devices – often the most vulnerable and poor in society – this energy help will be harder to access.