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The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has revealed that it does not possess any data regarding the number of heat network customers who were wrongly informed by the department that they were ineligible for energy bill support.
This revelation came to light during a recent question session in Parliament.
Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, directed a question to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, seeking an estimate of the number of heat network customers who were eligible for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Fund but were incorrectly informed by the department that they did not qualify.
This erroneous information was given on the grounds that these customers had already received £400 in support from their electricity supplier.
In response to Wilson’s inquiry, Amanda Solloway, the Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability, provided some insight.
She stated that the department had approximated that around 31,000 households across the UK, which are connected to heat networks, qualify for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding.
However, Solloway added that no concrete figures exist to indicate how many of these households were wrongly informed about their ineligibility for the scheme.
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