Warm Home Discount Scheme

The Warm Home Discount Scheme is a government initiative that gives low-income households a £140 discount on their electricity bill.

It’s a one-off discount administered by your energy supplier (providing your energy supplier participates in the scheme – see below). It isn’t a cash payment, but comes as a reduction in your bill.

The scheme does not affect your entitlement to either the Winter Fuel Payment or the Cold Weather Payment.

What is the Warm Home Discount Scheme?

The Warm Home Discount Scheme is a government initiative that gives low-income households a £140 discount on their electricity bill.

It’s a one-off discount administered by your energy supplier (providing your energy supplier participates in the scheme – see below for participating providers). It isn’t a cash payment, but comes as a reduction in your bill, applied between September and March.

The scheme does not affect your entitlement to either the Winter Fuel Payment or the Cold Weather Payment.

There are two ways to be eligible for the discount.

The ‘core group’

Pensioners who receive the Guarantee Credit part of the Pension Credit form the so-called ‘core group’ and should receive a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions about their eligibility for the scheme by the end of the year.

This group does not normally need to apply for the Warm Home Discount. Instead, the money is automatically deducted from their bill.

The ‘broader group’

The discount is also available to another, larger group of customers: people who are living in – or at risk of – fuel poverty.

The eligibility criteria for this so-called ‘broader group’ are set by the government, but energy firms can also exercise their own discretion.

Typically, to be eligible you will have to be a recipient of a state benefit such as Income Support or Universal Credit. You might also be able to apply if your annual household income is less than about £16,000, as long as you meet one or more other conditions. These include:

• If there is a child under five living permanently in the house or
• You receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Incapacity Benefit or Attendance Allowance

You can find out about your supplier’s eligibility criteria on the firm’s website, although you can’t apply until the 2019/20 scheme opens, which will be on October 14, 2019.

Don’t worry if you pay for your electricity with a pre-payment meter. You can still apply for the discount and eligible customers will receive a credit to their meter.

How to apply for the Warm Home Discount Scheme

The core group will have their discount applied automatically, but rebates for the broader group are handed out on a first-come, first-served basis.

The 2019/20 scheme opens in October, so be prepared to register your interest with your supplier starting from the 14th.

You should also bear in mind that being eligible last year does not guarantee you will be again this year. In fact, you will have to apply for it again this time around.

Not that if you switch from one supplier to another before you receive the discount, you will have to reapply for the rebate even if you qualified with the old firm, because the new criteria could be different.

Suppliers do not have to participate in the scheme unless they have at least 250,000 customers, which means that some of the smaller utility firms do not offer the Warm Home Discount, so choose your supplier with care.

The following companies are all members of the Warm Home Discount Scheme:

• Angelic Energy
• Atlantic
• Avro Energy
• Beam Energy (core group only)
• Boost
• Bristol Energy (core group only)
• British Gas
• Bulb Energy
• Citizen Energy (core group only)
• Co-operative Energy
• E (Gas and Electricity)
• Ebico (core group only)
• EDF Energy
• E.ON
• Flow Energy
• Fosse Energy (core group only)
• GB Energy
• Great North Energy (core group only)
• Green Network Energy (has stopped trading)
• Green Star/Hudson
• Liverpool Energy Community Company (LECCy) - (core group only)
• Lumo
• npower
• Octopus Energy
• OVO
• Powershop
• Ram Energy (core group only)
• Robin Hood Energy (core group only)
• Sainsbury’s Energy
• Scottish Gas
• Scottish Hydro
• ScottishPower
• Shell Energy
• Southern Electric
• SSE
• SWALEC
• Utilita
• Utility Warehouse
• White Rose Energy (core group only)
• Your Energy Sussex (core group only)

You can also find out more about the Warm Home Discount Scheme by calling 0345 603 9439, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm, or by visiting the government’s website here.

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