The government has urged households to redeem their energy bill rebate vouchers as soon as possible after figures showed only around two-thirds had already done so.

Last month, reports suggested thousands of Britons were missing out on energy bill support payments.

Publishing the data for the first month of the Energy Bill Support Scheme, BEIS said an estimated £1.8 billion was paid out last month.

The government’s Energy Bill Support Scheme provides a £400 non-repayable discount to households.

This is applied over six months with a reduction of £66 every month.

Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Grant Shapps, said: “All vouchers have now been sent to customers who should have them, so I urge everyone who uses a traditional prepayment meter to make sure they receive their voucher from their supplier and redeem them promptly, so they get the energy bill support they are entitled to.”

Yesterday, the Chancellor confirmed that the UK would observe an increase in the energy price cap from April 2023.