Gas & Electricity. Warm Home Discount scheme

The Warm Home Discount is a payment made towards electricity bills once per year for eligible customers.

What is the Warm Home Discount scheme?

The Warm Home Discount was first introduced by the Government in April 2011 to help eligible customers in England, Scotland and Wales with their energy bills during the winter. It’s there to provide support for those living on low incomes or pensions.

How much is the discount and when does it start?

If you qualify you'll get a one-off £150 discount off your bills this winter.

Payments are made between October and the end of March.

We make payments to eligible customers as soon as the Government let us know who to pay it to.

How will I receive my Warm Home Discount?

The discount will be added to your electricity account as a credit. And if you're on Pay as you go, we'll send you a voucher you can use to top up your meter at a Post Office.

If you're one of our Pay As You Go smart meter customers, we'll even send it directly to your meter as a credit and send you an email to let you know it's on there. If we can't get it directly to your meter as quickly as we'd like, we'll send you a voucher to top up from a Post Office. That way you'll still get your discount as soon as possible.

With a Pay as you go smart meter it's easier to see how much energy you use in pounds and pence and you can top up from wherever you like, whenever you like.

If you don't already have a smart meter, you can find out more and book an upgrade here.

Do I qualify for Warm Home Discount?

The eligibility requirements for the Warm Home Discount are the same as last year.

To qualify, you need to claim either the Guarantee Credit portion of Pension Credit or a different 'qualifying benefit.' Then the Government will make an assessment of your energy costs based on the property you live in. You'll need to be receiving these benefits and be a British Gas electricity customer on 13th August 2023.

The Government website will be updated soon with specific details about which benefits qualify and who can receive the discount. The Government will write to you to confirm you are eligible.

Some customers in Scotland who don't receive the Guarantee Credit portion of Pension Credits won't get a letter from the Government but may still qualify. If that's the case for you, you will need to apply for the discount.

Do I need to apply for the Warm Home Discount this year?

Customers in England and Wales

If you live in England or Wales and we supply your electricity, you won't need to apply, even if you applied in previous years. The Government will decide who is eligible and write to you if you are. We'll then make the payment to you by 31st March 2024.

If you are not eligible for the scheme, unfortunately we can't help you appeal as it's all decided by the Government. Customers wishing to appeal any decisions in England and Wales will need to visit the Government's dedicated Warm Home Discount website.

Customers in Scotland

If we supply your electricity in Scotland, some customers will need to apply, but others won't.

If you receive the Guarantee Credit portion of Pension Credit

The Government will decide which customers receiving Pension Credits are eligible, and if you're one of them will write to you. Payments will be made by 31st March 2024.

If you don't receive Pension Credits but do get other qualifying benefits

Customers in Scotland who receive other benefits and meet the Government's criteria can apply for a Warm Home Discount payment.

When applications open in September, if you think this applies to you, you can come back to this page where we will have further details and a link to the application.

Want to know more?

We recommend you keep checking the Gov.uk website for all the latest information on the Warm Home Discount scheme. We’ll also update this page with everything you need to know.