British Gas, Octopus Energy, EDF and OVO customers will receive a one-off £150 discount on their electricity bill from October.
The discount is available as part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Warm Home Discount Scheme to help households pay for their energy bills this winter. The scheme reopens in October and will be awarded to eligible homes automatically. There are different ways to qualify for the £150 discount depending on where you live, but it is available to households in England, Wales and Scotland.
You can qualify for the discount in England, Wales and Scotland if you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit. Pension Credit provides extra cash to help with living costs to those who have reached State Pension age and are on a low income. It tops up your weekly income to £227.10 if you live alone, or your joint weekly income to £346.60 if you are a couple.
This weekly payment top-up is known as the ‘Guarantee Credit’ element of Pension Credit, so if you get this you’ll also get the £150 Warm Home Discount this winter.
Households in England and Wales can also qualify for the discount if you are on a low income and have energy costs, while in Scotland you can qualify if you’re on a low income and you meet your energy supplier’s criteria for the scheme.
The DWP explains: “You qualify for the discount if all of the following applied on 11 August 2024:
- your energy supplier is part of the scheme
- your name (or your partner’s) is on the electricity bill
- you or your partner are getting the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit (even if you get Savings Credit as well)
“This is known as being in the ‘core group 1’ in England and Wales. In Scotland, it is the ‘core group’.”
The DWP adds: “If you do not get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, you may still be eligible for the Warm Home Discount. You may be eligible if all of the following applied on 11 August 2024:
- your energy supplier is part of the scheme
- you (or your partner) get certain means-tested benefits or tax credits
- your property has a high energy cost score based on its characteristics
- your name (or your partner’s) is on the electricity bill
“This is known as being in the ‘core group 2′.”
The qualifying means-tested benefits for the Warm Home Discount include Housing Benefit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Income Support, the ‘Savings Credit’ part of Pension Credit and Universal Credit.
Those who are eligible will see the discount automatically applied to their electricity bill by their supplier between October 2025 and March 2026.
The DWP has confirmed the following 27 energy suppliers are part of the Warm Home Discount Scheme, including major firms like British Gas, EDF, Octopus Energy and OVO:
- 100Green (formerly Green Energy UK or GEUK)
- Affect Energy – see Octopus Energy
- Boost
- British Gas
- Bulb Energy – see Octopus Energy
- Co-op Energy – see Octopus Energy
- E – also known as E (Gas and Electricity)
- Ecotricity
- E.ON Next
- EDF
- Fuse Energy
- Good Energy
- Home Energy
- London Power
- Octopus Energy
- Outfox the Market
- OVO
- Rebel Energy
- Sainsbury’s Energy
- Scottish Gas – see British Gas
- ScottishPower
- Shell Energy Retail
- So Energy
- Tomato Energy
- TruEnergy
- Utilita
- Utility Warehouse
