Overview

• The government has widened eligibility for this winter’s Warm Home Discount by scrapping the previous high energy cost criterion, adding 2.7 million households.
• Households claiming means-tested benefits—including the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, Universal Credit and Housing Benefit—will qualify for a one-off £150 payment.
• Twenty-two energy suppliers, such as British Gas, Octopus Energy, OVO and E.ON Next, have signed up to apply the discount directly to customers’ electricity bills.
• Eligible recipients will receive notification letters between November and January, with the discount automatically deducted from their bills by the end of March.
• Prepayment meter users will be issued top-up vouchers, while Scottish households in broader eligibility groups must apply through their supplier for the payment.