Warm Home Discount

The Warm Home Discount is an annual £150 discount on your electricity bill. It's designed for those who find it difficult to meet their winter energy costs.

Scotland's scheme is separate from that in England and Wales. The Warm Home Discount isn't available in Northern Ireland.

Around six million households should get the Warm Home Discount this winter, including 250,000 households in Scotland who will automatically get it for the first time.

You (the benefits recipient) need to be named on your household's electricity bill by 23 August 2026 to get the Warm Home Discount automatically, regardless of where you live. 

If you're not named on your bill in time, you may need to apply.

Read on to find out more about the scheme, how it works, and whether you're eligible for it.

If the Warm Home Discount doesn't apply to you, your energy supplier may be able to help. Find out more about the help available if you're struggling to pay your energy bills.

Who gets the Warm Home Discount in England and Wales?

People in England and Wales will qualify for the Warm Home Discount this winter if their energy provider is part of the scheme (see below for a list of providers) and they receive one of the following means-tested benefits:

• Housing Benefit 
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) 
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) 
• Income Support Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit) 
• Universal Credit 

To receive the Warm Home Discount automatically on your energy bill, you must be named on your electricity bill with your energy company. The bill can be in your own name, or you can be named as a secondary billpayer if your energy account is held by someone else living in your home, or your legal representative.

Sunday 23 August 2026 is the qualifying date on which energy suppliers will match customer records (ie. being named on an electricity bill) against eligibility for the discount (an eligible means-tested benefit). 

If you are added to your energy bill after this date, your household will still be able to receive the discount, but will need to wait for a letter to arrive later in the year. If you have not received a letter by January 2027, then you will need to call the helpline.

Find out more about Warm Home Discount eligibility and applications at GOV.UK.

You can still get the Warm Home Discount if you have a prepayment meter, also known as pay-as-you-go. 

If you're considering switching energy supplier, check that your new supplier will pay your Warm Home Discount if you're eligible for it before changing provider. Use the list below or ask the supplier. 

Who gets the Warm Home Discount in Scotland?

If you live in Scotland, you should get the Warm Home Discount automatically if you are named on your electricity bill (or named on the bill of your partner or legal representative) before 23 August 2026 and you get a qualifying benefit:

• Pension Credit
• an extra amount of Universal Credit because you or your child has a diability or health condition
• a disability premium or a pensioner premium of income-related Employment Support Allowance
• a disability premium or a pensioner premium and have a Support for Mortgage Interest loan.

You should also get the discount automatically if you or your partner is responsible for a child under five who lives with you and you:

• are unemployed and get Universal Credit
• get Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• have a Support for Mortgage Interest loan.

Scottish households who get other means-tested benefits will need to apply for the discount via their energy supplier from October. 

They may have extra elibility criteria. Application windows will vary depending on the supplier.

Is the Warm Home Discount only for pensioners?

No. Energy companies also pay the Warm Home Discount to a broader group of people who have difficulty paying their energy bills. The eligible benefits are listed above.

If you receive Pension Credit, you should be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment too.

How do I get the Warm Home Discount?

If you are in England or Wales and qualify, you will receive the Warm Home Discount automatically through your energy supplier if you were named on your energy bill on 23 August 2026. 

If you were added to your household's energy bill after this date, you will still be able to receive the discount, but will need to wait for a letter to arrive later in the year. If you have not received a letter by January 2027, then you will need to call the helpline.

If you are in Scotland, certain households will receive the Warm Home Discount automatically through your energy supplier if you were named on your energy bill on 23 August 2026. 

Some means-tested benefits don't mean you'll get the Warm Home Discount automatically but may still be able to get it if you apply to your energy supplier from October 2026. Application windows will vary depending on the supplier.

Find out more about Warm Home Discount eligibility and applications at GOV.UK.

Prepayment energy meters and park homes

If you have a prepayment meter, your energy company will confirm how you'll get the discount. It might be a voucher you can use to top-up your meter, for example.

If you live in a park home, the process is different. You can apply for the Park Homes Warm Home Discount via Charis from September 2026.

When will I get my Warm Home Discount?

You should get the discount off your electricity bill by the end of March 2027. You'll need to stay with the same energy supplier until it's paid.

If you haven't heard from your energy supplier about your Warm Home Discount by early January, contact the Warm Home Discount Scheme helpline on 0800 030 9322 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm). 

Which energy companies pay the Warm Home Discount?

Energy companies with more than 1,000 domestic customers must pay the Warm Home Discount, and smaller energy suppliers can offer it voluntarily too.

These suppliers are currently part of the scheme:

• 100Green
• British Gas
• Co-op Energy (supplied by Octopus Energy)
• E (Gas & Electricity)
• Ecotricity
• E.on Next
• EDF Energy
• Fuse Energy
• Good Energy
• Home Energy
• London Power (supplied by Octopus Energy)
• Octopus Energy
• Outfox Energy
• OVO
• Sainsbury’s Energy
• Scottish Gas (part of British Gas)
• Scottish Power
• So Energy
• Tulo Energy
• Utilita
• Utility Warehouse

Suppliers with more than 1,000 domestic customers must offer the discount to both the core and broader groups.

You can find out more about these energy suppliers, including what their customers really think of them, by reading our advice on the best energy suppliers. 

If your supplier isn't listed, ask it whether it offers the Warm Home Discount before you switch.

If I switch energy supplier, what happens to my Warm Home Discount?

If you switch away from a supplier that offers the Warm Home Discount to a supplier that doesn't, you'll lose your Warm Home Discount (even if you're in the core group). 

If you qualify for the Warm Home Discount because you've met your current supplier's criteria and want to switch, check first that you would still qualify with your new supplier.

If my energy supplier closes, what happens to my Warm Home Discount?

If your energy supplier closes, your account will automatically be transferred to a new supplier chosen by Ofgem.

You should continue to get the discount from the new supplier. 

It's unlikely that Ofgem will choose a replacement supplier that is too small to have to pay the Warm Home Discount. It says it takes into account the supplier's ability to make Warm Home Discount payments when it's choosing a replacement company.

You should get the discount automatically. The Department for Work and Pensions works with energy suppliers to identify customers who get qualifying benefits and are therefore eligible.

Energy companies have different criteria if you've applied, rather than qualified automatically. Some smaller firms don't make payments to those who don't automatically qualify.

It's important to ask your new supplier if you will qualify as soon as you find out which company you're being moved to, because the number of discounts paid by each supplier to their broader group customers may be limited.

More information on the Warm Home Discount is available from the government's website at Gov.uk.