Warm Home Discount

Warm Home Discount

The Warm Home Discount is a government programme that provides a one-off rebate to the electricity bills of UK homes that are at risk of fuel poverty. The rebate is applied via the energy supplier between October and March.

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As mentioned, the Warm Home Discount provides rebates on electricity bills. For 2016–17, this amount is set at £140, and takes the form of a one-off discount on your electricity bill if you are eligible for the scheme.

This means the funds are not given directly to you, but applied to your energy bill between October and March, meaning the discount is effectively handled by your energy supplier.

Am I eligible for the Warm Home Discount?

The Warm Home Discount, like the Social Tariff scheme it replaced, is designed to help those who are vulnerable or may need help covering their energy bills during the winter months, when energy bills tend to be the most expensive.

So who gets the Warm Home Discount? You are automatically eligible for the Warm Home Discount if on the 10 July 2016 you were:

• In receipt of the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit (no Savings Credit)

or

• In receipt of the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit (even if you get Savings Credit as well)

This group is referred to as the 'core group' of those eligible.

Aside from being eligible, you also have to check that your supplier participates in the scheme (small suppliers especially may not offer it); we've listed these suppliers below. You must also check that your name (or your partner’s) appear on the electricity bill.

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If you don’t fall into the core group, you may still be able to get the Warm Home Discount, because some suppliers also offer the discount to a ‘broader group’ of customers who are vulnerable to falling into fuel poverty, such as low income households and those especially low income homes that contain a small child.

In these cases, each supplier has its own eligibility criteria and a limit on how many discounts it will pay out. Contact your current energy supplier to find out more.

How can I claim my payment?

Core group

If you are eligible for the Warm Home Discount as part of the core group, you will receive a letter in the post. This letter will confirm that your Warm Home Discount will be automatically deducted from your electricity bill.

Your supplier uses information obtained from the Department for Work and Pensions to identify the core group and automatically provide the discount.

However, if you haven’t received your letter and think that you may be eligible, then contact the Warm Home Discount Scheme team on 0345 603 9439, available Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm.

Non-core group

If you think you might be eligible as part of the non-core group, you must make a claim for the Warm Home Discount.

Start by finding out if your supplier offers the discount (see below). You can make a claim for Warm Home Discount on your supplier's website or by calling them.

Which energy suppliers participate in the Warm Home Discount scheme?

The following suppliers offer the Warm Home Discount in the 2016-2017 season:

• Atlantic
• Bristol Energy
• British Gas
• Economy Energy
• EDF Energy
• E.ON
• Extra Energy
• First Utility
• Fischer Energy
• Flow Energy
• npower
• OVO Energy
• Our Power
• Scottish Hydro
• ScottishPower
• Southern Electric
• Spark Energy
• SSE
• SWALEC
• The Co-operative Energy
• Utilita
• Utility Warehouse

Please note that some providers require re-application for the Warm Home Discount if you switch energy supplier.

Warm Home Discount and energy price caps

In late 2017, Ofgem announced it would expand the price caps it rolled out to prepayment energy customers to cover customers currently receiving the Warm Home Discount.

Ofgem estimated this would help around an additional 1 million vulnerable energy customers save on their gas and electricity costs.

“It’s absolutely right that Ofgem considers specific measures to help the most vulnerable households who need additional support," said Richard Neudegg, Head of Regulation at uSwitch.com.

"By focusing on the particular needs of a group of customers, rather than taking a one size fits all approach, we can identify those who need additional protection while helping others make active choices about their energy deal.

"However, there is more that can be done, and we urge the Government to consider broadening access to the Warm Home Discount for those currently eligible, and ensuring all energy suppliers are required to offer it. The Government and Ofgem should focus deeper support to those who need it most, rather than a broad and damaging general price cap.

“It’s competition which ultimately drives prices down, not price caps. So while it's encouraging that suppliers will now be able to move customers onto another fixed deal when their current tariff expires, consumers must not be lulled into a false sense of security. Ofgem should compel suppliers to do more to put the power in consumers' hands, by prompting customers to shop around for a better deal for themselves.”

Additional help for vulnerable energy customers

For those who do not currently qualify for the Warm Home Discount scheme, there are other financial assistance programmes available.

The Cold Weather Payment is a government payment when temperatures drop below zero for a sustained amount of time. Although it isn't paid out very often, it is worth keeping a note of. Learn more about the cold weather payment on our dedicated guide page.

You may also be entitled to the winter fuel payment or winter fuel allowance. The winter fuel payment is a tax-free payment of between £100 and £300 to help certain groups of people pay for their heating over winter. Whether you qualify or not depends on your circumstance, which in turn will determine how much you are entitled to.

There may also be energy efficiency grants available to you. Qualifying for these grants means you can get your home insulated for free. Home insulation is a great way to both cut your energy bills as well as waste less gas and electricity

You can also make small changes around the home and make adjustments to your energy behaviour to see savings on your bills. Get free energy-saving tips now.

Read more…

• Energy Company Obligation There are types of funding available to you if you want to install energy saving upgrades
• Energy Efficiency Grants There are funding grants available to people installing energy saving measures

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Original article and pictures take assets0.uswitch.com site