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Fuel Rights Handbook 21st edition

Warm Home Discount

• England and Wales
• Scotland

The WHD is a one-off discount of £150 on your electricity bill which is allocated to your account by the end of March in any given year if you qualify for support. If your supplier provides you with both gas and electricity, you may be able to get the discount on your gas bill instead.1Reg 20 WHD RegsNote: the £150 includes VAT so the rebate shows on your bill as a credit of £143 – ie, before VAT is applied.

If you have a prepayment meter and qualify for a WHD, contact your supplier to ask how you will receive the discount – eg, it may be paid as a bar-coded top-up voucher or a post office voucher.

If you permanently live in a park (mobile) home and pay for fuel directly to your park site manager, see parkhomeswhd.com for more information.

If your supplier goes out of business, you may still be able to get a WHD from the supplier Ofgem moves you to if it has not yet been applied to your account.

The delivery of Warm Home Discount is separate and distinct from the operation of the scheme of the same name for England and Wales. It will be delivered in this manner through to end of March 2026

Which suppliers offer the Warm Home Discount?

By law, energy companies must give a WHD to some of their most vulnerable customers. All suppliers with more than 1,000 customers must participate and suppliers with fewer customers are able to participate voluntarily.2Reg 6 Warm Home Discount (England and Wales) Regulations 2022 See gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/energy-suppliers for an up-to-date list of suppliers offering WHD.

 

1     Reg 20 WHD Regs »

2     Reg 6 Warm Home Discount (England and Wales) Regulations 2022 »

England and Wales

Customers in England and Wales no longer need to apply to their energy supplier for the WHD. You may be able to get £150 off your energy bill (or added to your meter) if you get the guarantee credit element of pension credit (PC) (Core Group 1). You may also be eligible if you’re on a low income and live in a property with a ‘high-energy cost score’, determined by the Valuation Office Agency (Core Group 2). You must be named on the electricity account or bill of a participating energy supplier and meet the eligibility requirements on the qualifying date. For 2022, this is 21 August.

Data sharing between the government and energy suppliers means most eligible households will receive the WHD automatically. Suppliers usually pay out over the winter months and must pay by 31 March 2023. If you are due to receive the discount, you will be sent a letter in November or December 2022. This may invite you to confirm eligibility or to take part in a review.

Further information on the Warm Home Discount in England and Wales is available at ofgem.gov.uk/publications/faqs-warm-home-discount-scheme. Further information on the scheme, including who is eligible for a rebate, is available at gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme.

Scotland

There are two main groups within the WHD scheme.

•Core group. A yearly discount, of £150 in 2022/23, is made to the bill of each eligible customer. Eligibility alters each year but is targeted at customers over PC age. In 2022/23, the qualifying date for eligibility was 21 August 2022 and you were required to be receiving the guarantee credit element of PC (even if you get the savings credit as well). The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data matches its records with participating energy suppliers so, if you are eligible, you should be contacted automatically. The bill must be in your or your partner’s name.
•Broader group. Participating suppliers have discretion over the eligibility criteria for the broader group, but they are still required to target those in, or at risk of, fuel poverty. The eligibility criteria are subject to approval from Ofgem. The annual discount for the broader group was £150 in 2022/23. There is no data-matching with this group so, if you think you are eligible, contact your supplier. The discount is awarded on a first-come-first-served basis. During 2022/23 if you had a child under the age of five and your income is below £16,190 or you receive a means-tested benefit, you may have received support in a first come first served basis until supplier obligation budgets were exhausted.

Examples

Audrey gets the guarantee credit of PC. The DWP writes to tell her that she will automatically get a £150 credit to her account.

Ranjit and Bhavna, live in Scotland, have a prepayment smart meter and apply for a WHD under their supplier’s scheme because Ranjit gets income-related employment and support allowance and they have a four-year-old son. Their application is successful and £150 is credited to their account.

Dean has a prepayment meter and applies for a WHD because his annual income is less than £16,190 and his fuel spend is more than 10 per cent of his income. His supplier sends him a £140 voucher to top-up his account.

Joyce gets the guarantee credit of PC. She cannot get a WHD as her supplier does not participate in the scheme.