MILLIONS of households with 22 suppliers are in line for £150 discounts on their energy bills.
The Warm Home Discount is a one-off deduction on your electricity and sometimes gas bill.
Millions of households will get the Warm Home Discount this winter[/caption]
The discount is usually applied automatically between October and March when households use more energy.
It is issued to people in England, Wales and Scotland on certain means-tested benefits including Universal Credit.
Not all firms are signed up to the scheme though, with a list of the 22 that are on the Government website.
This is the full list of energy firms signed up to the Warm Home Discount scheme:
- 100Green (formerly Green Energy UK or GEUK)
- British Gas/Scottish Gas
- E
- Ecotricity
- E.ON Next
- EDF
- Fuse Energy
- Good Energy
- Home Energy
- London Power
- Octopus Energy
- Outfox the Market
- OVO
- Rebel Energy
- Sainsbury’s Energy
- ScottishPower
- Shell Energy Retail
- So Energy
- Tomato Energy
- TruEnergy
- Utilita
- Utility Warehouse
Who is eligible for the Warm Home Discount scheme?
There are different ways to qualify for the Warm Home Discount scheme based on where you live.
Households in England and Wales are eligible if they fit into two “core” groups.
Core group one applies to households where someone receives the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit.
Core group two applies to households on the following benefits:
- Housing Benefit
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income Support
- the “Savings Credit” part of Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
You will need to have been claiming either the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit or the other qualifying benefits on August 24 this year to be eligible for the Warm Home Discount in 2025/26.
Households in Scotland are also bunched into two groups based on their circumstances.
Those on the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, known as “core group”, get the £150 discount automatically applied.
Other Scottish households in the “broader group” on certain means-tested benefits qualify for the discount but have to apply via their energy firm.
Energy firms should tell you what benefits qualify you for the discount and may set extra criteria for you to meet as well.
For the 2024/25 year, households in England, Wales or Scotland in core group two or the broader group had to live in a property with a high energy cost score as well be on benefits to qualify for the Warm Home Discount.
However, this criteria has been scrapped for this winter meaning 2.7million more households will get it.
You can still qualify for the Warm Home Discount if you have a prepayment meter.
Your supplier will tell you how you’ll get a discount. This might be a voucher you can use to top up your meter.
If you qualify for the Warm Home Discount, you should receive a letter telling you.
These are usually sent between October and January.
OTHER ENERGY BILL HELP
If you don’t qualify for the Warm Home Discount you might be able to get help with energy bills through the Household Support Fund.
The current round of the fund is worth £742million and has been shared between councils in England.
They then have to distribute their share and set their own eligibility criteria on who can get help.
You might be able to get free money direct into your bank account or vouchers to cover the cost of energy.
If you’ve fallen into energy debt, you might be able to get a grant to wipe it clear through your energy firm too.
British Gas and Octopus Energy, the UK’s two biggest energy suppliers, both have schemes, as well as others.
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity Turn2Us’ benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto’s free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto’s data.
You can use Policy in Practice’s calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you’ll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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