What is the Warm Home Discount?
Image credits: Battersea Power Station in London, An electricity meter, A light bulb. All photos: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed.
The Warm Home Discount is a rebate scheme, not a benefit you claim from the government. It has run since 2011 and its purpose is simple: to cut the electricity bills of low-income and vulnerable households over winter. The government sets the rules and matches benefit records against electricity accounts; energy suppliers apply the £150 to the bills of the households that qualify; and the cost is spread across all domestic gas and electricity customers through a levy on bills. Since it began, the scheme has provided £4.53 billion of support through bill rebates and related help.
A short history
When the scheme started in 2011, the rebate was £120. It rose to £140 and has been £150 since winter 2022/23. For most of its life, only some households on means-tested benefits qualified in England and Wales: as well as being on a benefit, a household also had to live in a property that was expensive to heat. That extra test shut out many people who needed help, and it was removed for winter 2025/26. The removal is what expanded the scheme so sharply — from about 3.35 million households receiving the rebate in winter 2023/24 to around 6 million in winter 2025/26 and again in winter 2026/27, including around a million more families with children. The previous regulations ended on 31 March 2026, and the government has now confirmed a new five-year scheme period running from winter 2026/27 through to 2030/31, so the discount is not a one-winter offer.
Who runs what
| Body | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) | Sets the scheme rules and regulations for England, Wales, and Scotland |
| Ofgem | Administers the scheme and oversees suppliers' obligations |
| Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) | Matches benefit records against supplier account data |
| Energy suppliers | Apply the £150 to qualifying bills and run Industry Initiatives help |
| Scottish Government | Sets eligibility for the scheme in Scotland within the funding limit |
The funding model is worth understanding because it explains why the discount is a bill credit rather than a payment. Suppliers are required to fund the rebates, and they recover the cost from all their domestic customers. That is also why the scheme is limited to suppliers that take part: a supplier outside the scheme has no obligation to pay the rebate and no funding route for it. Most large and medium suppliers take part, but if yours does not, you cannot receive the discount even if you meet every other condition.
How the money reaches you
There are three routes, and your supplier decides which one applies to you. If you pay by direct debit or on receipt of a bill, the £150 is credited to your electricity account and reduces what you owe. If you get gas and electricity from the same supplier, you may be able to take the discount on your gas bill instead — ask your supplier. If you use a prepayment meter, your supplier will tell you how the credit reaches you; in practice this is often a voucher you use to top up your meter, so watch your post, your texts, and your supplier's app. In every case the discount is applied once, for one winter, and it does not carry over: if you qualify again next winter, a fresh match is made and a fresh £150 is applied.
The scheme also includes Industry Initiatives: money suppliers must spend on extra help for people in or at risk of fuel poverty, delivered directly or through charities. That help can include debt advice, energy efficiency advice, and checks to make sure you are claiming everything you are entitled to. Industry Initiatives matter most for households that do not qualify for the main rebate — for example because they are not on a means-tested benefit — and they are covered on the Core Group versus Broader Group page.
Sources: GOV.UK, Warm Home Discount scheme guidance and the Warm Home Discount (England and Wales) and (Scotland) Regulations; Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Continuing the Warm Home Discount Scheme government response and impact assessment (2026/27 to 2030/31); GOV.UK news, Households to receive £150 Warm Home Discount confirmation letter (22 October 2026); Ofgem scheme guidance.