# Budget 2026: Millions of UK households to get £100 energy bill payment – check if you’re eligible

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/budget-2026-millions-of-uk-households-to-get-100-energy-bill-payment-check-if-youre-eligible/
- Published: 2026-10-28T15:09:26+00:00
- Original publisher: The Independent (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/energy-bill-payment-100-budget-2026-labour-b3074879.html
- Topics: Entertainment, Music, Politics, UK, World

## Key points

- The eligibility checker briefly went offline after the Budget announcement.
- Around 20 million households in council tax bands A to D qualify.
- The £100 payment is intended to ease winter energy costs.

## Summary

The new coverage adds that the government’s postcode checker for the £100 Household Energy Payment briefly went offline after the Budget announcement, then returned, although some users continued to report problems. The payment is intended to help households with rising energy costs this winter, with eligibility determined by council tax band.

Around 20 million households in bands A to D are due to receive the rebate automatically into their bank accounts, at a total cost of £2.6 billion. The government says this would cover 80 per cent of fuel-stressed households and 88 per cent of households in the bottom three income deciles; the scheme is to be funded by raising the bank surcharge from 5 to 8 per cent for 15 months from January. Separately, gas standing charges are due to be removed from next year, with the typical household currently paying about £108 a year.

## Coverage

- [The Independent: Budget 2026: Millions of UK households to get £100 energy bill payment – check if you’re eligible](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/energy-bill-payment-100-budget-2026-labour-b3074879.html)
- [Daily Mail: Council tax checker website CRASHES during Budget as bill payers race to see if they can claim £100 energy payment this winter](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16246235/Council-tax-checker-website-CRASHES-Budget-energy-payment.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.