Energy firms to pay £150 off bills this winter as full list of suppliers issued

David Bentley
·3-min read
An older couple looking at their bills and finances
-Credit: (Image: Getty Images)


A full list of energy firms offering a £150 discount on bills this winter has been issued. The Government says the Warm Home Discount scheme will reopen in October, providing a direct rebate into your electricity account.

Energy bills are to rise from the start of next month as the Ofgem price cap goes up, leaving UK householders facing the prospect of much higher costs for heating their homes. However, extra cash will be available to thousands of people who are eligible.

Ofgem said the average household bill is set to increase by £149 from October 1 after it increased the quarterly price cap for the winter months. The cap is set to rise further in January, analysts have forecast.

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Those on the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit should automatically qualify for the Warm Home Discount. Other people may be eligible if their energy supplier is part of the scheme; they live in a property with a high energy cost score based on its age, size and type; and they receive certain means-tested benefits, namely Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit.

Note that the State Pension isn't on the eligibility list so those who will miss out on the Winter Fuel Payment are also likely not to qualify for the Warm Home Discount either. According to guidance from the government, the following suppliers are part of the scheme:

  • 100Green (formerly Green Energy UK or GEUK)

  • Affect Energy – now part of Octopus

  • Boost

  • British Gas

  • Bulb Energy - now part of Octopus

  • Co-op Energy - now part of Octopus

  • E - also known as E (Gas and Electricity)

  • Ecotricity

  • E.ON Next

  • EDF

  • Good Energy

  • London Power

  • Octopus Energy

  • Outfox the Market

  • OVO

  • Rebel Energy

  • Sainsbury’s Energy

  • Scottish Gas (trading name for British Gas in Scotland)

  • ScottishPower

  • Shell Energy Retail

  • So Energy

  • Tomato Energy

  • TruEnergy

  • Utilita

  • Utility Warehouse

For the Warm Home Discount in England and Wales, payments are made directly by the energy companies and go into your electricity account (not your bank account), with no need to apply unless you were told you were eligible in a letter but didn't see the money credited. In Scotland, however, those who aren't on Pension Credit Guarantee Credit do need to apply directly to their energy supplier.

Meanwhile, Octopus Energy has decided to extend its £30 million Octo Assist fund to help pensioners. The company will now allow lower-income pension-age households who don't receive Pension Credit, and therefore won't qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment or Warm Home Discount, to claim from its fund. Thousands of discretionary credits of £50, £100 and £200 will be available to those who apply, it said.

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