Warm Home Discount: £150 off, and who gets it free

The Warm Home Discount is £150 taken off your electricity bill for the winter, not money paid into your bank account. In England and Wales, if you receive a qualifying means-tested benefit and your name is on the electricity account, you should get it automatically without applying; in Scotland, some people get it automatically and others have to apply to their supplier before the places run out.

What the Warm Home Discount actually is

It is a one-off £150 rebate — a credit — applied to the electricity account of households on a low income, paid for through a levy on energy suppliers and overseen by Ofgem. It runs in England, Scotland and Wales only. Northern Ireland is not part of it at all, and there is more on that below.

Two things trip people up. First, the £150 does not arrive as cash; it comes off what you owe your electricity supplier, so if you pay by direct debit you may simply see your balance drop. Second, it applies to your electricity, even if you heat your home with gas.

The scheme closes each spring and reopens for the new winter in the autumn, with letters and rebates going out over the following months. Ofgem confirms rebates must reach eligible households by the end of the scheme year on 31 March.

Who gets the £150 without doing anything

In England and Wales, the government now matches benefit records against electricity supplier records and applies the discount for you. You do not fill in a form.

You are in line for it automatically if all of these are true:

• You, or your partner as named on the benefit record, receive one of the qualifying means-tested benefits (benefits based on your income and savings).
• Your electricity supplier takes part in the scheme — all the larger suppliers must.
• Your name, or your partner's, is on the electricity bill on the qualifying date, a single day in late summer that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero sets in its yearly eligibility statement on GOV.UK.

The qualifying benefits are set fresh each year rather than fixed in law, but the list has consistently included Pension Credit — both Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit — and income-related Employment and Support Allowance, alongside Housing Benefit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support. Universal Credit claimants below an income threshold have also been included. Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit stopped counting from winter 2025-26, because tax credits ended.

How you will be told: most eligible households get a letter confirming the discount is coming. Some get a different letter asking them to ring the Warm Home Discount helpline to confirm details before the rebate can be applied. If that letter lands, ring it — the discount does not go on until you do, and there is a deadline.

If the person receiving the benefit is not the name on the electricity account, sort that out with your supplier now — it is the most common reason a household on the right benefit still misses out.

The rule that changed in England and Wales

Until the 2025 scheme year, many working-age households on the right benefit were still refused because of a "high cost to heat" test based on the age, type and floor area of their property. That test has gone.

According to the House of Commons Library briefing on the Warm Home Discount, scrapping it brought roughly 2.7 million more households into the scheme, taking the total to roughly 6 million across Great Britain. So if you were turned down in an earlier year on property grounds, that reason no longer exists.

The government has also said it intends to keep this benefits-based eligibility in England and Wales for a further five years, and the old "Core Group 1 and Core Group 2" language is being merged into a single core group to make the letters clearer. If a supplier still uses the old group names, do not worry about it.

Warm Home Discount in Scotland works differently

Scotland keeps two routes, and only one is automatic.

• The core group — mainly people receiving the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit. This is applied automatically.
• The broader group — other low-income households, who must apply to their own electricity supplier. Places are limited each year and applications can close early, so apply as soon as your supplier opens its scheme in the autumn.

The Scottish scheme has been continued by regulations to 31 March 2031, and the government has said it will consider moving Scotland to the same automatic system used in England and Wales. Until then, check mygov.scot and your supplier's own page rather than assuming.

Northern Ireland: a different scheme entirely

The Warm Home Discount does not operate in Northern Ireland. Instead, nidirect points households towards the Affordable Warmth Scheme run through the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and your local council, which pays for insulation and heating improvements rather than a bill rebate. A replacement scheme has been consulted on, so check nidirect for the current position before applying.

If you think you qualify and nothing arrives

Do these in order:

1. Check you were on a qualifying benefit on the qualifying date shown on GOV.UK's Warm Home Discount page for this scheme year.
2. Check whose name is on the electricity account. If it is your partner's and the benefit is in your name, ring the supplier and get both names on it.
3. Look for an unopened letter. If it asked you to call the helpline, call it — even late, it is worth trying.
4. Ring your electricity supplier and ask them directly whether the rebate has been applied.
5. If you are still stuck, Ofgem takes scheme queries at whd@ofgem.gov.uk.

If you live in a park home and buy your electricity through the site owner, you are not automatically excluded — there is a separate route for park home residents, and GOV.UK explains how to apply.

On a prepayment meter, the £150 arrives as meter credit or a voucher, depending on your supplier.

If you are on a prepayment meter

You still get the £150. How it reaches you depends on your supplier: it may be credited straight to your meter, added to your key or card, or sent as a voucher you redeem. Your supplier should tell you which, and GOV.UK's Warm Home Discount page sets out the rules — if nothing has appeared by the new year, ring and ask which method they are using for your account.

Other help that stacks on top

The £150 does not stop you getting other support in the same winter:

• Pension Credit. This is the lever. Receiving Guarantee Credit gets you the Warm Home Discount automatically anywhere in Great Britain, and it opens the door to other help too. Claims can be backdated, so check even if you think you are just over the line.
• Winter Fuel Payment, for people over State Pension age, subject to the current income rules on GOV.UK.
• Cold Weather Payments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland when temperatures stay low; in Scotland this has been replaced by the Winter Heating Payment, which is paid to eligible households regardless of the weather.
• Household Support Fund help through your council, where it is still running in your area.

Questions people ask

Is the Warm Home Discount paid into my bank account?

No. It is a £150 credit applied to your electricity account, so you see it as a lower bill or added credit rather than cash.

Do I have to apply for the Warm Home Discount?

In England and Wales, almost everyone gets it automatically through benefit records. In Scotland, the broader group must apply directly to their electricity supplier each autumn.

Can I get it if I rent?

Yes, as long as you pay the electricity supplier directly and your name is on the account. If your rent includes energy and the landlord holds the account, you will not get it.

I was refused before because of my house type — should I try again?

Yes. The property test for England and Wales was removed from the 2025-26 scheme year, so age and size of your home no longer matter.

What if I switch supplier?

What counts is who supplied you on the qualifying date. Tell your new supplier if a rebate was due, and keep the letter.

If your energy bill is already behind

Do not wait for the £150 to fix it. Your supplier must offer you an affordable repayment plan based on what you can actually pay, and you can ask to go on the Priority Services Register for extra support. For free, independent debt help, contact Citizens Advice, StepChange or National Debtline — never pay a company to do this.

What to do next

• Check whether you could be claiming Pension Credit or another qualifying benefit with our benefits finder.
• See what your energy is actually costing you a day and a year on our energy page, and test your bill with the energy bill check.
• Look at grants and insulation help with the warm home check.
• Behind on a bill already? Start with debt letter help and free advice.

Where this comes from

• The Warm Home Discount Scheme — GOV.UK
• Warm Home Discount: eligibility statement, England and Wales — GOV.UK
• Warm Home Discount (WHD): Eligibility — Ofgem
• The Warm Home Discount — House of Commons Library CBP-10366
• The Warm Home Discount (Scotland) Regulations — legislation.gov.uk
• Warm Home Discount — mygov.scot
• Energy saving grants in your area — nidirect
• Pension Credit — GOV.UK