Energy costs: Government releases dates on £600 payment
BBCThe electricity supplier a household is with on 2 January will be responsible for distributing the £600 energy support payment, it has been revealed.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has outlined some key dates in a document.
The exact date customers will receive the payment has not been confirmed.
But BBC News NI's business and economics editor John Campbell said it was feasible payments could begin in the second week of January.
He added that this was not a certainty and relied on "governance ducks [being] in a row".
Other dates in the document include the end date - 30 June.
The money, part of a UK-wide energy payment scheme, has been delayed in Northern Ireland.
It is intended to help with energy bills but people can use the money as they see fit.
The payment is being delivered by the UK government in the absence of Stormont.
Allow Twitter content?
Direct debit electricity customers will see the £600 payment paid directly into their bank accounts.
Those who pay quarterly or use a pre-payment meter - about 500,000 people in Northern Ireland - will receive vouchers in the post.
These vouchers can be redeemed for cash or paid into a bank account.
The document includes a "voucher validity period" running from issue of the voucher until 31 March.
BEIS said this meant vouchers must be cashed by then, unless they were lost or damaged vouchers, in which case replacements could be issued up to 31 March with a final expiry date of 30 June.
The document also states that a "dry run" has been carried out.
The dates for the dry run were 11 December, with data provided on 13 December.
This was to test the ability of the network operator (NIE Networks) to get meter data to the suppliers and allow suppliers to get a good estimate of how many people use each payment method.
Getty ImagesMore details are available on the government's information page on the payment scheme.