The government has urged households to check they are eligible for an automatic discount on their energy bills this year as an annual scheme is expanded.
The Warm Home Discount provides a £150 cut to domestic energy bills for qualifying recipients. The one-off discount is applied automatically to an energy bill between October and March.
Around six million people will now receive a payment this winter, up by 2.7 million from last year after the Department for Energy and Net Zero (DESNZ) announced an expansion to the scheme.
This brought in new rules that mean the bill payer must now only receive an eligible means-tested benefit, whereas before they also had to prove they lived in a home with high energy costs.
However, the person in receipt of the benefit must be named on the energy bill to receive the payment, DESNZ has reminded households.
Energy suppliers – which automatically apply the discount – will rely on customers’ records as of 24 August to check eligibility.
This means there is just a few weeks to ensure the correct person is named on the energy bill. A factor like moving house or changing supplier can sometimes affect this.
After this date, eligible customers can still claim the discount, but will need to wait for a letter to arrive later in the year. This could come as late as January 2026.
Minister for energy consumers Miatta Fahnbulleh said: “We took decisive action earlier this year to expand the Warm Home Discount, giving more working families certainty and peace of mind before winter.
“I now want to make sure as many eligible households as possible get £150 off their energy bill, putting more money in their pockets as part of our Plan for Change.
“If you know someone who might be eligible – please start spreading the word to family and friends, encouraging them to check they are named on their energy bill.”
To be eligible for the payment in England and Wales, the bill payer must either receive the guarantee credit element of pension credit or one of:
- Housing Benefit
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income Support
- Universal Credit
The expansion of the Warm Home Discount comes after energy regulator Ofgem warned that UK energy bills are set to surge despite a recent cut to its price cap.
The energy watchdog recently revealed that bills are set to rise by £104 by 2031 to cover the cost of £24 billion extra investment in Britain’s energy infrastructure.
