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Energy firm Budget offers £50 payment to 1,000 customers

ELECTRICITY supply firm Budget Energy is to give 1,000 of its domestic customers in the north a one-off £50 payment to help meet their power bills.

The Derry-based firm, set up in 2011 and whose 80,000 customers includes around 8,000 domestic users, mainly in Belfast and Derry, has put £50,000 into a Covid-19 response fund.

The money pot will support individuals and families by providing a £50 credit to customer accounts or an equivalent amount top-up code for Keypad meters.

It opens at noon today (Thursday), when customers will be asked to complete an online application form via www.budgetenergy.co.uk.

Applications will be assessed on a first-come-first-served basis and processed within days to ensure funding reaches customers as quickly as possible. The scheme will continue until all £50,000 has been allocated.

Budget Energy's managing director Anne McEvoy said: "We remain a local family owned business, and as such we feel a great connection with customers and communities.

"We know many customers are facing financial difficulty as a result of the current crisis. Some have a reduced income because they have lost their job and are still waiting on financial support.

"Others are in prolonged isolation due to underlying health conditions and are worried about how this will affect their energy bills.

"The aim of this fund is to take away some of the anxiety many customers will face when it comes to paying for their electricity."

Budget's founder Eleanor McEvoy has since 2017 been one of the panellists and entrepreneurs on the Irish version of Dragon's Den on RTE.