The government is urging millions of households to check their electricity bills to ensure they automatically receive a £150 winter discount under the expanded Warm Home Discount scheme.
Over six million households are now eligible for the discount – an increase of 2.7 million from previous years, including 900,000 more families with children.
Who Qualifies
Households in England and Wales are eligible if the billpayer receives any of these means-tested benefits:
- Universal Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income Support
- Pension Credit
Important Deadline
Suppliers will use customer records from Sunday, August 24 to determine eligibility. To receive the discount automatically, the eligible person must be named on the electricity bill.
Last winter, 96% of eligible households received their discount automatically through this system.
Action Required
Standard meters: Ensure the benefit recipient’s name appears on the electricity bill
Pre-payment meters: Check that the household account is registered in the eligible person’s name
Government Push
Energy Minister 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.”
The expansion represents the government’s effort to help more households cope with energy costs during the winter months, particularly targeting working families and vulnerable households previously excluded from the scheme.
