Get Help To Pay Your Energy Bills
Energy bills have skyrocketed this year. While the government have put a price cap in place to limit the skyrocketing cost of energy this winter, many households will still struggle to afford adequate heating and electricity.
Because of this, there are several measures in place to help, including the Energy Bills Support Scheme and the Warm Home Discount Scheme. In this quick guide, we lay out how you can claim them and how you can benefit.
The Energy Bills Support Scheme
The Energy Bills Support Scheme provides a £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households to help with their energy bills over winter 2022 to 2023.
The payment is provided in installments, detailed below:
£66 reduction in October and November
£67 reduction in December, January, February and March
This discount is applied automatically, even if you do not pay monthly. How you receive this depends on how you pay for your energy
If you pay by Direct Debit
Your supplier will either reduce your direct debit amount, or refund the money to your bank account each month
If you have a smart prepayment meter
The discount will be applied to your meter by the 14th of every month, if it has not been, please speak to your supplier
If you have a standard prepayment meter
You will either receive an automatic credit when you top up, or receive a voucher
If you pay by credit or debit card
Your supplier will add the amount as credit to your account at the beginning of every month
Warm Home Discount Scheme
If you receive benefits, you may receive £150 off your electricity bill or £150 added to your prepayment meter. You do not need to apply, this payment is automatic.
Check which energy supplier you were with on 21 August 2022. You can only get the discount if your supplier is in the scheme. The following suppliers are part of the scheme:
- Affect Energy
- Boost
- British Gas
- Bulb Energy
- Co-op Energy
- E (Gas and Electricity)
- E.ON
- E.ON Next
- Ebico
- Ecotricity
- EDF Energy
- Good Energy
- Green Energy UK (GEUK)
- London Power
- M&S Energy
- Octopus Energy
- Outfox the Market
- OVO
- Rebel Energy
- Sainsbury’s Energy
- Scottish Power
- Shell Energy Retail
- So Energy
- SSE
- Utilita
- Utility Warehouse
If you or your partner get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, you should get the Warm Home Discount.
In some circumstances, you may be able to receive the Warm Home Discount if you receive a different benefit, but the government decides that you have ‘high energy costs’. This will be calculated automatically, and you do not need to contact anyone about this.
If you have high energy costs, you will receive the Discount if you claim any of the following benefits:
- Universal Credit
- Pension Credit Savings Credit
- Housing Benefit
- income based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- income related Employment and Support Allowance
- Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits
- Income Support
Winter Fuel Payment
If you were born on or before 25th September 1956, you will receive the Winter Fuel Payment
How Much Will I Receive?
You’ll get £300 if you live either:
- on your own
- with people who don’t qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment
If you live with someone else who qualifies for the Winter Fuel Payment, the amount you’ll get depends on whether either of you get any of the following:
- Pension Credit
- income-related ESA
- income-based JSA
If either you or the person you live with gets one of these benefits, you’ll both get £300 – as long as you’re not partners. You’ll only get one £300 payment if you’re partners.
In the event that neither of you get one of these benefits, you’ll both get £150.
If you live in residential care and qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment, you’ll get £150 unless you get any of these benefits. If you get any of the benefits, you won’t get a pensioner cost of living payment.
Cold Weather Payments
Additionally, from November, you may receive cold weather payments depending on if you claim any of the following benefits:
- Pension Credit
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Universal Credit
- support for mortgage interest
You will receive this payment if the average temperature in your area is recorded, or forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below for 7 consecutive days.
You will receive £25 for each 7 day period between November 1st and March 31st.