YOU may be eligible to get a free £150 to help with your energy bills this winter.
A number of energy suppliers will be giving the discount on bills for struggling households this winter.
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The help is being provided via the Government’s Warm Home Discount scheme.
The package sees energy suppliers give a £150 discount on the electricity bills of people claiming certain benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions.
The support is not awarded as cash into your bank account but instead applied directly to your account by your energy supplier.
The credit you have in your energy account will increase by £150 so it can only be used on your energy bills.
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If you have a traditional prepay meter, you will instead be sent a voucher which you can use to top up the meter in your home.
The support is given automatically to people claiming certain benefits including:
- Income related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Income Support
- Universal Credit
- Housing benefit
- Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits
- Pension Credit Savings Credit (PCSC)
To get the money this year, you will need to be claiming these benefits during the qualifying week.
This is usually in August, however the official week has not yet been confirmed.
The Warm Home Discount scheme will reopen in October and it is likely we will get an update then.
It’s also important to know that not all energy suppliers are part of the scheme.
So even if you are claiming the eligible benefits, you may not receive the help.
Which suppliers participate in the Warm Home Discount scheme?
According to GOV.UK, the following suppliers took part in last year’s Warm Home Discount scheme. This means it is likely they will be a part of this year’s too – although this has not been confirmed.
- 100Green (formerly Green Energy UK or GEUK)
- Affect Energy
- Atlantic
- Boost
- British Gas
- Bulb Energy
- Co-op Energy
- E
- 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
If your energy supplier is part of the scheme, they should contact you to let you know whether you are eligible, these letters usually come before January the next year.
The scheme opens in October and runs until March each year so your discount can be applied anytime.
