Warm home discount: Millions have until Sunday to check for £150 off bills

Millions urged to check energy bills

Anyone in a household claiming means-tested benefits needs to be named on the energy bill by 23 August, as energy suppliers will use the details held on their customer records to identify households eligible for the payment.

The £150 is not paid directly to households but is instead credited to their energy account, usually against the electricity bill, although it can generally be put towards gas instead.

Eligible households should receive the discount between late October and March, with around six million households expected to benefit this winter. The warning comes as households face the prospect of higher energy bills again.

Who gets the Warm Home Discount automatically

In England and Wales, someone in the household must be claiming one of the following:

• Universal Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Pension Credit

In Scotland, the qualifying benefits are:

• Pension Credit
• An extra amount of Universal Credit because you or your child has a disability or health condition
• A disability premium or pensioner premium of income-related ESA
• A disability premium or pensioner premium alongside a Support for Mortgage Interest loan

The discount is also applied automatically where you or your partner is responsible for a child under five who normally lives with you and you are unemployed and receiving Universal Credit.

The practical job before Sunday is a small one: check whose name is on the energy account. Getting that wrong is the difference between the money arriving on its own and having to chase it, the same trap as the money sitting unclaimed at HMRC, or missing a deadline on the BT landline switch-off.