Brits will be repaying the £200 government energy loan for five years a £40 a year, according to plans laid out today.
The government wants to bring in a £200-per-home discount to energy costs this year to help with soaring energy bills .
The scheme will see the government give cash to energy firms, who then apply that as a reduction to bills.
However, the money will need to be repaid.
Today the government launched a consultation on what the details of the Energy Bills Support Scheme will look like.
The government still insists the £200 loan is a grant, not a loan - because it doesn't charge interest.
The Collins dictionary defines a loan as "a sum of money that you borrow".
The £200 government money seems to qualify, as you will have to repay it in the form of higher energy bills.
MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis has even described the system as a 'loan-not-loan'.
Last week energy minister Greg Hands was laughed at by a BBC TV audience for refusing to call the scheme a loan.
The government doubled down in its consultation today, and said: "The energy bill reduction is not a loan. There will be no interest due, no debt attached, and it will not affect your credit rating. It is a grant now with a levy on future bill payers."
Here are 10 things you need to know about how it works and what the government is planning.
1) Domestic electricity customers in Great Britain will get the £200 reduction in their electricity costs from this October.
2) Repayment costs will be capped at £40 a year, meaning households will be paying off the loan for five years.
3) The discount will be applied automatically to energy bills from October 2022.
4) How you get the £200 loan may vary depending on if you have a pre-payment meter or pay by direct debit.
5) All customers in England, Scotland and Wales will get the £200. Northern Ireland has been given enough cash to launch its own scheme.
6) If you live in a park home or house of multiple occupation, you may not get the £200. This is because it will be paid to the person named on the bill, in these cases is a landlord, who passes the cost on to tenants. The government is still working out how to fix this problem.
7) You cannot opt out, and have to take the £200 even if you don't want it.
8) If you switch energy supplier over the five-year repayment period, you will repay any oustanding cash to your new energy firm.
9) The government is still refusing to give any energy bill reductions bar the £200 loan and a £150 council tax rebate .
10) Exactly how the scheme works will be finalised and published by the government this summer.
