Warm Home Discount

• England and Wales
• Scotland

The Warm Home Discount (WHD) is a one-off discount of £150 on your electricity bill. If you are eligible, your supplier allocates the discount to your bill by the end of March. The money is not paid to you. If your supplier provides you with both gas and electricity, you may be able to get the discount on your gas bill instead.1EW Reg 10(3)(b) WHD(EW) Regs
S Reg 9(3)(b) WHD(S) Regs Note: 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, ask your supplier 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 Charis Grants Park Homes Warm Home Discount for more information.

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.2EW Reg 6 WHD(EW) Regs
S Reg 6 WHD(S) Regs See gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/energy-suppliers for an up-to-date list of suppliers offering the WHD.

From 2022/23, there are separate WHD schemes for England and Wales and for Scotland. The WHD scheme currently runs to March 2026.3EW Reg 4 WHD(EW) Regs
S Reg 4(2)(b) WHD(S) Regs

 

EW Reg 10(3)(b) WHD(EW) Regs
S Reg 9(3)(b) WHD(S) Regs »

EW Reg 6 WHD(EW) Regs
S Reg 6 WHD(S) Regs »

EW Reg 4 WHD(EW) Regs
S Reg 4(2)(b) WHD(S) Regs »

England and Wales

You may be able to get a WHD if your supplier participates in the scheme and you:1Reg 10 WHD(EW) Regs

•get the guarantee credit element of pension credit (PC) (core group 1); or
•have 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 (usually in 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. You will receive a letter in November or December if you are due to get the discount. This may invite you to confirm eligibility or to take part in a review.

Further information is available at gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme.

 

1     Reg 10 WHD(EW) Regs »

Scotland

There are two main groups within the WHD scheme.

•Core group. Eligibility alters each year but is targeted at customers over PC age. In 2023/24, you were eligible if, on the qualifying date (13 August 2023), you were receiving the guarantee credit element of PC (even if you get the savings credit as well). The 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. 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 2023/24, if you had a child under the age of five and your income was below £17,005 or you received a means-tested benefit, you may have received support on a first-come-first-served basis until supplier obligation budgets were exhausted.

Check gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme from October 2024 for the eligibility criteria for winter 2024/25.