£63 Electricity Discount and £100 Oil Card: NI Energy Bill Support for Winter 2026
Every Northern Ireland household gets £63 off electricity automatically from 6 October 2026, and oil-heated homes on benefits or under £30,000 income can apply for a £100 oil card now. Who gets what, how keypad meters receive it, and what it is worth. Checked 23 September 2026.
I checked every line of this page against the Department for the Economy, the Department for Communities and nidirect on 23 September 2026, because both of this winter’s support schemes changed shape in the space of a fortnight and a lot of what was written in August is now wrong. I run this site and read every quote request that comes through it. Of the 394 between 12 March and 22 September, 262 households put their electricity spend at £100 to £250 a month, so it helps to be exact about what £63 is and is not.
Two schemes matter this winter. One is automatic and reaches every home. The other you have to apply for, and it has been open since 9 September.
The Short Version
| £63 Household Electricity Discount | £100 Home Heating Oil Support | |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets it | Every domestic electricity account, around 860,000 homes | Oil-heated homes on a qualifying benefit, or with net income under £30,000 |
| Means tested | No | Yes |
| Do you apply | No, it is automatic | Yes |
| When | From 6 October 2026 | Open since 9 September 2026, closes 31 March 2027 |
| How it arrives | Bill credit, or keypad credit on your next top-up | A £100 digital prepaid card for use with NI oil suppliers |
| Run by | Department for the Economy, through your supplier | Department for Communities |
The £63 Electricity Discount
Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald confirmed the Household Electricity Discount on 17 September 2026. Around 860,000 households get £63 off electricity from 6 October 2026, applied by their supplier. It is not means tested and has nothing to do with how much electricity you use.
On a bill, the supplier credits £60 to your account before VAT is added, which comes to £63. It appears on the bill as “NIRO & VAT Govt Credit”. If your bill is smaller than the credit, the rest stays on the account for future bills. If the account is already in credit, it is added to the balance.
On a keypad, you get £63 of credit at the meter when you top up. Two rules from nidirect are worth knowing before 6 October:
- The maximum single top-up is £175. To get the full £63 in one go, top up no more than £112 at a time. Top up more than that and the discount is split, with the balance coming on later top-ups.
- If you are switching supplier or moving house and have not had the credit yet, top up before the move where you can.
Eligibility for 2026 is set by suppliers from NIE Networks records as of 4 October 2026. Businesses are not eligible. If a landlord holds the electricity account, the discount goes on the landlord’s account, not the tenant’s.
Where the £63 comes from
It is two things combined into one payment. In June 2026 the Treasury approved £85.4m to cover 75% of the domestic cost of the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation (NIRO) over three years, worth around £30 a year to each home. On top of that the Department for the Economy secured £25.7m for 2026/27, which it describes as equivalent to the temporary six-month VAT cut on domestic electricity in Great Britain. The total cost this year is estimated at £53m.
That second part is how Northern Ireland gets the GB VAT cut. Electricity here stays at 5% VAT, so the equivalent arrives as a credit instead of a lower rate. The scheme runs again in 2027 and 2028, with those amounts to be confirmed before payment.
The £100 Home Heating Oil Card
The Home Heating Oil Support Scheme opened for applications at 00:01 on 9 September 2026 and closes on 31 March 2027. The Department for Communities puts around 340,000 households in scope, with £36.4m of funding (£17.2m from the UK Government, £19.2m from the Executive).
Who qualifies. Oil has to be your main heating. Then, for at least one day in a qualifying period, you must be resident in Northern Ireland and either:
- getting a qualifying benefit: Pension Credit, Universal Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Armed Forces Independence Payment, or the Constant Attendance Allowance elements of Industrial Injuries or the War Pension Scheme; or
- a single person or couple with net annual income under £30,000 after tax, National Insurance and pension contributions. This includes pensioners.
The qualifying periods are any day from 1 to 30 April 2026, or any day from 1 to 30 November 2026. Care home, nursing home and supported housing residents, hospital in-patients and prisoners for the whole period may not qualify. An award does not affect any benefit you get.
How to apply. Online at nidirect’s home heating oil support page, which takes about 10 minutes and needs your National Insurance number. Or phone the oil scheme helpline on 0800 072 0266 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm), or call into a Jobs and Benefits office. One application per address. The Department for Communities aims to decide within 10 working days.
How the card works. If you are successful you get a link by email, text or letter. You have three months to activate the card, and once it is activated you must spend it by the last day of the following month. Online orders can be up to £100. For a bigger order, phone your oil supplier and pay the rest another way. A partly spent card cannot be reissued, so plan the order before you activate it.
What It Is Worth Against a Real Bill
| Bill | Annual cost | £63 as a share |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest NI electricity tariff, Power NI monthly Direct Debit with online billing | £1,027 | 6.1% |
| Share Energy from 1 October | £1,200 | 5.3% |
| Dearest NI standard tariff, Budget Energy Bill Pay Standard | £1,403 | 4.5% |
Annual costs are on 3,200 kWh from the Consumer Council table dated 22 September 2026. On the cheapest tariff, £63 is about three weeks of electricity. For a Share Energy customer it covers roughly half of the £129 rise that lands on 1 October.
The oil card goes further in percentage terms. The Consumer Council’s survey of 17 September 2026 put the NI average at £353.16 for 300 litres and £1,007.16 for 900 litres. At the 300 litre price, £100 buys about 85 litres, which is around a tenth of a 900 litre fill. Heating oil is back above £1 a litre in bulk, and our oil prices page tracks the weekly figure.
What This Support Does Not Cover
- Gas. The £63 is for electricity only. SSE Airtricity gas rises 19.2% on 1 October and firmus energy gas rises 8.98% in the Ten Towns on 1 October and 12.5% in Greater Belfast on 8 October. There is no matching gas credit.
- Other heating fuels. The £100 card is for home heating oil bought from NI oil suppliers.
- Businesses. Neither scheme covers business premises.
- Your unit rate. The discount is a one-off credit. It does not change the price per kWh you pay for the rest of the year, so it does not change which supplier is cheapest. Our comparison of all five NI suppliers ranks them by payment method.
- Insulation, boilers or solar. Those are covered, where they are covered at all, by the routes below.
The Other Routes That Actually Exist
Affordable Warmth. Northern Ireland’s main home energy scheme, run by the Housing Executive for the Department for Communities. It pays up to £7,500 (£10,000 for solid wall homes) towards insulation and heating for households with an income under £23,000, and is open until March 2028. It does not pay for solar. The full rules are in our Affordable Warmth guide. Its successor, the Warm Healthy Homes Fund, is due from April 2027, with rules not yet published.
NI Energy Advice, 0800 111 4455. The starting point for Affordable Warmth and the helpline for questions about the £63 discount.
Your supplier. If a bill is already a problem, contact your supplier early. Every NI supplier has to offer payment options and support.
Advice NI, 0800 915 4604, for help with benefits, including checking whether you qualify for the oil card.
The Consumer Council, 0800 121 6022, if a discount has not arrived and your supplier has not sorted it, or for help comparing tariffs.
Solar is the gap. No grant is open to most NI households for panels; the only exception is NISEP’s income-limited Toasty Homes scheme (see solar panel grants), and for everyone else the only help is 0% VAT on installation until 31 March 2027. If you are weighing panels against the next round of rises, our comparison of solar against oil heating costs sets out the numbers without a grant in them.
Sources
All checked on 23 September 2026.
- Department for the Economy, Households to receive £63 Cost of Living Support, 17 September 2026
- nidirect, help with your electricity bill (bill and keypad rules, £112 top-up advice, eligibility date, scams)
- Power NI, Household Electricity Discount Scheme, 17 September 2026
- nidirect, apply online for home heating oil support
- Department for Communities, £100 Home Heating Oil Support Scheme goes live, 8 September 2026
- Consumer Council, electricity price comparison table, prices for 22/09/2026, and home heating oil price checker, 17 September 2026
Quote request figures are from 394 requests submitted through this site between 12 March and 22 September 2026.
Connor McAuley
Founder, Compare Solar NI
Connor built Compare Solar NI and writes every page on it. He runs the Solar Today tracker, which has logged daily solar generation in seven Northern Ireland towns since January 2026, has read every quote request sent through the site, and checks each price and scheme against its source on the date shown at the top of the page. He is not an installer and sells no hardware. How this site works and earns money.
More about the authorFrequently Asked Questions
How much is the electricity discount in Northern Ireland and when is it paid?
£63, applied automatically by your electricity supplier from 6 October 2026. The Department for the Economy says around 860,000 households will get it. It is not means tested and is not based on how much electricity you use. Bill pay customers get a £60 credit applied before VAT, so £63 in total, shown on the bill as NIRO & VAT Govt Credit. Keypad customers get £63 of credit at the meter when they top up.
Do I need to apply for the £63 electricity discount?
No. There is no form and no application. Your supplier applies it to every eligible domestic account, using NIE Networks records as of 4 October 2026. nidirect is clear that you will never be asked to apply or to give bank details for it, so any text, email or call asking for either is a scam. If it has not arrived, contact your electricity supplier first, then the Consumer Council.
How do keypad customers get the £63 discount?
It is added as credit at your meter the next time you top up after the scheme starts on 6 October 2026. The maximum single top-up is £175, and nidirect advises topping up no more than £112 at a time to get the full £63 in one go. A bigger top-up splits the discount, and the rest arrives on later top-ups. If you are switching supplier or moving home and have not had it yet, top up before the move where you can.
Who is eligible for the £100 home heating oil support?
Households in Northern Ireland that use home heating oil as their main heating and, for at least one day of a qualifying period, either get a qualifying benefit (including Pension Credit, Universal Credit, income-related ESA, DLA, PIP and Attendance Allowance) or are a single person or couple with a net annual income under £30,000 after tax, National Insurance and pension contributions. Pensioners are included. The qualifying periods are 1 to 30 April 2026 and 1 to 30 November 2026. One card per residential address.
How do I apply for the £100 oil voucher in Northern Ireland?
Apply online at nidirect's home heating oil support page, which takes about 10 minutes and needs your National Insurance number, or phone the oil scheme helpline on 0800 072 0266 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm), or go to a Jobs and Benefits office. Applications opened on 9 September 2026 and close on 31 March 2027. It is not automatic. The Department for Communities aims to give a decision within 10 working days.
Can I get both the £63 discount and the £100 oil card?
Yes. They are separate schemes run by different departments. The £63 goes to every domestic electricity account automatically. The £100 oil card is for oil-heated homes that meet the benefit or income test and apply. A household that qualifies for the oil card also gets the electricity discount, so £163 in total this winter.
Will the £63 electricity discount be paid again in 2027?
The scheme continues in 2027 and 2028, but the amounts have not been set. The Department for the Economy says future values will be confirmed before they are paid. The 2026 figure is higher than the underlying NIRO discount of around £30 a year because it includes £25.7m equivalent to Great Britain's six-month VAT cut on electricity, which the department secured for 2026/27.
Is there a grant for insulation, heating or solar panels in Northern Ireland?
For insulation and heating, yes: the Affordable Warmth Scheme, run by the Housing Executive, pays up to £7,500 (£10,000 for solid wall homes) for households with an income under £23,000, and is open until March 2028. You start by calling NI Energy Advice on 0800 111 4455. No grant is open to most NI households for solar; the only exception is NISEP's income-limited Toasty Homes scheme, which may already be fully allocated. What every household gets on solar is 0% VAT on installation until 31 March 2027.
Related Guides
Cheapest Electricity in Northern Ireland: Compare All Five Suppliers by How You Pay (22 September 2026)
Power NI is cheapest at £1,027 a year on Direct Debit and £1,065 on keypad; Budget Energy has the lowest unit rate at 31.51p for new customers. All five NI suppliers ranked by payment method from the Consumer Council table of 22 September 2026, plus what changes on 1 October.
NewsElectricity Prices Northern Ireland: 31.5p to 42p per kWh, Every Supplier Checked 22 September 2026
NI domestic electricity costs 31.51p to 42.01p per kWh including VAT on the Consumer Council table of 22 September 2026, and Power NI charges 32.10p to 34.15p with no standing charge. Every supplier's rate and standing charge, Share Energy's 35.99p from 1 October, and the £63 discount from 6 October.
NewsNI Energy Price Rises, October 2026: Share Energy Electricity Up 12.6%, SSE and Firmus Gas Up 19%
Every Northern Ireland tariff change landing in October 2026, what each costs a household, the confirmed £63 electricity discount from 6 October and the £100 oil card now open, and what it all does to solar payback. Rechecked 23 September 2026.
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