There are a number of energy providers who will be giving customers a £150 discount on energy bills this winter under the Warm Home Discount scheme.
The scheme will open on October 16, and the money will be applied by the end of March.
Britons will receive the money directly into their energy account, by their supplier.
Those with a traditional prepay meter will be sent a top-up voucher. The smart prepayments will be applied automatically.
The Government scheme sees energy suppliers apply the one-off discount between October and March.
People should get the payment automatically if they, or their partner, receive the Guarantee Credit portion of Pension Credit – this is known as “core group one”.
People may also automatically get the Warm Home Discount if they are on a low income, claiming certain benefits and have high energy costs. This is known as being in the “Core Group 2” if they live in England and Wales.
Those eligible for the help would have been claiming certain benefits on the qualifying date which was August 13.
The full list of qualifying includes:
- Housing Benefit
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income Support
- “Savings Credit” part of Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
Individuals living in Scotland who claim benefits can apply for the Warm Home Discount through their supplier under the “Broader Group” criteria.
In the upcoming weeks, those eligible should receive a letter telling them whether they qualify for the scheme this year.
If they don’t receive a letter, and they think they’re eligible, they can call the Warm Home Discount helpline on 0800 107 8002.
However, it should be noted that not all energy providers are part of the Home Warm Discount Scheme so before contacting the helpline, they should check if their energy provider offers the help.
Full list of suppliers taking part in the Warm Home Discount scheme
- 100Green (formerly Green Energy UK or GEUK)
- Affect Energy
- Atlantic
- Boost
- British Gas
- Bulb Energy
- Co-op Energy
- Ecotricity
- E.ON Next
- EDF
- Good Energy
- London Power
- Octopus Energy
- Outfox the Market
- OVO
- Rebel Energy
- Sainsbury’s Energy
- Scottish Gas
- Scottish Hydro
- ScottishPower
- Shell Energy Retail
- So Energy
- Southern Electric
- SSE Energy Services
- Swalec
- Tomato Energy
- TruEnergy
- Utilita
- Utility Warehouse
