The Warm Home Discount gives you £150 off your electricity bill, normally between October and March, and plans to expand the scheme will see millions more people eligible for this help
Almost three million more households will qualify for £150 off their electricity bill under new plans to expand the Warm Home Discount scheme.
The proposals would see the high-cost-to-heat threshold for the Warm Home Discount – which is a score that determines whether a property is considered to have high energy costs – removed for households in England and Wales.
The level of funding available in Scotland would also be increased. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) says this means all households in receipt of means-tested benefits would then be eligible for the Warm Home Discount, including almost one million households with children.
It estimates the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter could rise by 2.7 million, to an estimated 6.1 million. The Warm Home Discount gives you £150 off your electricity bill, normally between October and March. It is not a cash payment into your bank account.
If you live in England and Wales, you currently qualify for the Warm Home Discount if you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, or you claim means-tested benefits and have high energy costs. If you live in Scotland, you qualify if you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, or you claim a means-tested benefit. Some electricity providers have extra eligibility criteria.
The government will also work closely with Ofgem to accelerate proposals on a potential energy debt relief scheme. It comes after Ofgem announced energy bills are rising again, with the price cap is rising by 6.4% from April. The typical dual fuel household paying by direct debit will see their annual energy bill increase from £1,738 a year to £1,849 – a rise of £111 a year, or £9.25 a month.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “This Government is determined to do everything we can to protect people from the grip of fossil fuel markets. Expanding the Warm Home Discount can help protect millions of families from rising energy bills, offering support to consumers across the country.
“This is a Government that will always stand up for working people. Alongside this, the way to deliver energy security and bring down bills for good is to deliver our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower- with homegrown clean power that we in Britain control.”
Ofgem CEO Jonathan Brearley said: “Energy debts that began during the energy crisis have reached record levels and without intervention will continue to grow. This puts families under huge stress and increases costs for all customers.
“We’re developing plans that could give households with unmanageable debt the clean slate they need to move forward. We welcome the government’s support for these plans, and their plans to expand the Warm Home Discount, which will also offer financial help to nearly three million more households that need it most.”
