Temperatures in the UK are starting to fall as the country is well into autumn after a summer full of heatwaves.
With colder nights creeping in, many households will start to put their central heating on again – but with the energy price cap increasing in the final quarter of 2025, it will not be cheap.
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What is the Warm Home Discount?
The Warm Home Discount is a government scheme that is designed to help certain households keep the heating on during the winter months.
It was introduced in 2011 and gives eligible households £150 off their energy bills.
It is not a cash payment, like the Winter Fuel Payment. Rather, it’s applied as a credit on eligible households’ energy accounts at some point between October and March.
The date the credit will be given this winter is not yet announced.
Who can get the Warm Home Discount?
The Warm Home Discount is not available to all households. Instead, to get the energy credit, you have to be on a means-tested benefit.
The government has said that households in England and Wales will be eligible for the discount if they are in receipt of any of the following 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
This means that around six million households are expected to get the discount this year, 2.7 million more than last year, according to the government’s estimates.
Not all energy suppliers participate in the scheme though. A full list of suppliers that offer the Warm Home Discount can be found on gov.uk.
You may be able to get the discount if your household is on the Ofgem energy price cap or if you switched to a fixed energy tariff.
Households that are eligible for the benefit should receive a letter in the post confirming they will get £150 off their energy bills this winter. Letters are being sent from 28 October, and each household should have received one before January 2026.
Ed Milliband, the Energy Secretary, said: “Letters will be dropping on doormats across the country this week containing welcome news for hundreds of thousands of families.
“This Government is determined to tackle energy affordability for families, and this winter more people will be helped as a result.”
How to get the Warm Home Discount
Getting the Warm Home Discount is usually automatic, as energy providers use the names and addresses on energy bills to check if you are eligible for the credit.
Last winter 96% of eligible households received their discount automatically through this route.
However, a small minority of households will need to provide the government with extra details in order to get the credit added to their energy bills. The government has said these households will be told this through a letter and asked to call an official helpline.
These households may need to provide an electricity bill or statement to confirm the billpayer’s name and account number.
If you think you should have received the discount and did not automatically get it, then the government says you should contact your energy supplier in the first instance.
If your supplier cannot help, then they advise you to write to the Warm Home Discount Scheme. Details of how to do this are on gov.uk.
Earlier this year, the government urged those who recently moved home or switched energy suppliers to make sure they were named on their energy bills by 24 August to ensure they could get the discount.
The government added that households on pre-payment meters who use a key or card to top up will also need to ensure that their household’s account is registered in their name to make the most of the discount.
If you think you may be eligible for the credit, and were not named on your energy bill before the above deadline, it may be worth contacting your energy supplier or the government to check whether you will receive the discount this year.
Can you get the Warm Home Discount and the Winter Fuel Allowance?
If you are eligible for the Warm Home Discount and also the Winter Fuel Payment, then you will be able to get both benefits as they are two separate government schemes.
While the government had previously restricted the Winter Fuel Payment just to pensioners on Pension Credit, they backtracked from this position in June.
This winter, pensioners with an annual income over £35,000 will not get the cash payment worth up to £300.
If you are eligible for the Warm Home Discount as well, then you will be able to get an additional £150 off your energy bills this winter.
We explain how to boost your chances of getting the Winter Fuel Payment in a separate piece.
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