{"id":104328,"date":"2025-02-17T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=104328"},"modified":"2025-02-17T10:44:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T10:44:20","slug":"uk-households-risk-missing-energy-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/uk-households-risk-missing-energy-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of UK Households at Risk of Missing \u00a3150 Energy Bill Discount"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thousands of UK households have only two weeks left<\/strong> to claim a \u00a3150 discount<\/strong> on their energy bills through the government’s Warm Home Discount Scheme<\/strong>. The deadline to respond to required notifications or apply for the scheme is 28 February 2025<\/strong>, after which eligible individuals may miss out on this financial support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the Warm Home Discount Scheme Works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Warm Home Discount Scheme<\/a><\/strong> is a government initiative designed to help low-income households manage energy costs. The \u00a3150 discount<\/strong> is not a direct payment<\/strong> but is applied as a reduction on electricity bills<\/strong> through energy suppliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For most eligible recipients, the discount is applied automatically<\/strong>. However, some individuals must provide additional information<\/strong> or contact the scheme\u2019s helpline<\/strong> to ensure they receive the benefit. Last winter, 128,000 people<\/strong> had to contact the scheme’s helpline to receive their discount, highlighting the importance of checking eligibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far, 190,000 letters<\/strong> have been sent to households, representing a total of \u00a328.5 million<\/strong> in support already allocated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who Is Eligible for the \u00a3150 Discount?<\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe scheme primarily supports low-income households<\/a><\/strong> and pensioners<\/strong>. Eligibility is assessed based on government criteria, which include receiving at least one of the following benefits before 11 August 2024<\/strong> :<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
Income Support<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
Income-based Jobseeker\u2019s Allowance<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
Housing Benefit<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
Universal Credit<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
Child Tax Credit<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
Working Tax Credit<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
The “savings credit” portion of Pension Credit<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, the government evaluates eligibility based on the type, age, and energy efficiency of a property<\/strong>. This means that some UK households in energy-efficient homes may not qualify<\/strong> for the scheme, even if they receive qualifying benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, this exclusion does not apply to pensioners<\/strong> who receive the guarantee credit portion of Pension Credit<\/strong>. If pensioners were not claiming Pension Credit<\/strong> before the 11 August 2024<\/strong> deadline, they may still qualify if they backdate their application<\/strong> for up to three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to check if you qualify<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Eligible households should have received a letter between October and December 2024<\/strong>. These letters indicate whether the discount will be applied automatically or if additional information is required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To confirm eligibility or request the discount<\/strong>, individuals can :<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
Call the Warm Home Discount helpline<\/strong> at 0800 030 9322<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
Send a letter<\/strong> to Warm Home Discount Scheme, PO Box 14127, Selkirk, TD7 9AH<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nHouseholds in Scotland<\/a><\/strong> must apply directly through their energy supplier<\/strong>, while Northern Ireland<\/strong> residents are not covered<\/strong> by the scheme but may be eligible for separate gas bill support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How Is the Discount Applied?<\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe way the Warm Home Discount<\/a><\/strong> is applied depends on the type of electricity meter a household has :<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
For smart credit or prepayment meters<\/strong>, the discount is applied automatically to the energy bill.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
For traditional prepayment meters (key or card top-ups)<\/strong>, the discount is given in the form of vouchers<\/strong>, which must be redeemed at local top-up points.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Vouchers for prepayment meters are issued by the Post Office<\/strong> on behalf of British Gas, E.ON Next, Ovo Energy, EDF Energy, Scottish Power, and Good Energy<\/strong>. The expiry date of these vouchers varies between 30 and 90 days<\/strong> from the date of issue. If a voucher is lost or expired, UK households should contact their supplier for a replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additional Financial Support for Energy Bills<\/h2>\n\n\n\nFor those struggling with energy costs<\/a>, there are additional forms of support available:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
British Gas offers grants of up to \u00a32,000<\/strong> for customers struggling to pay their bills.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
The British Gas Energy Trust and Individuals Family Fund<\/strong> provide financial assistance<\/strong>, even for non-British Gas customers<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
EDF, E.ON, Octopus Energy, and Scottish Power also offer hardship grants<\/strong> for customers in financial difficulty.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, vulnerable UK households can register for the Priority Services Register (PSR)<\/strong>, which provides :<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
Additional support for those struggling with energy costs<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n
Advance warnings of power cuts<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n
Free gas safety checks<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thousands of households could miss out on a \u00a3150 energy bill discount if they don\u2019t act soon. The deadline to secure this support is fast approaching.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":100474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104328"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104336,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104328\/revisions\/104336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}