DWP £150 energy payment from EDF, E.on, Octopus from October 2024 - full list of companies

People have to be using one of the approved suppliers and be eligible to get the Warm Home Discount boost for their bills this winter

Customers of 25 power companies could qualify for having £150 knocked off their bills as the temperature gets colder this year - especially important in 2024 after the winter fuel payment was axed for more than 10 million people.

The Warm Home Discount scheme will reopen this month - and gives eligible households £150 towards their energy costs every year. If you’re eligible, your electricity supplier will apply the discount to the bill.

Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds MP when talking about the change to winter fuel payments meaning only people claiming Pensions Credit can get it, said that Warm Home Discount would be a key help to those who will miss out. In a written response to a parliamentary question she urged individuals to see if they qualify for the Warm Home Discount scheme, which offers a £150 rebate on electricity bills for eligible low-income households in Great Britain, paid directly to energy suppliers. She emphasised: "This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme."

You qualify if you either:

• get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit
• are on a low income and have high energy costs

It is also important that your energy supplier has signed up to the scheme. The Department for Work and Pensions has issued a list of the 25 suppliers which will dish out the money.

The following suppliers are part of the scheme:

• 100Green (formerly Green Energy UK or GEUK)
• Affect Energy – see Octopus Energy
• Boost
• British Gas
• Bulb Energy – see Octopus Energy
• Co-op Energy - see Octopus Energy
• 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 – see British Gas
• ScottishPower
• Shell Energy Retail
• So Energy
• Tomato Energy
• TruEnergy
• Utilita
• Utility Warehouse

Full information on this year's scheme has not been released yet but in 2023 people got the money if on 13 August 2023 all of the following applied:

• your energy supplier is part of the scheme
• your name (or your partner’s) is on the electricity bill
• you or your partner are getting the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit (even if you get Savings Credit as well)

Qualifying benefits and tax credits

The qualifying means-tested benefits are:

• Housing Benefit
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income Support
• the ‘Savings Credit’ part of Pension Credit
• Universal Credit

You could also qualify if your household income falls below a certain threshold and you get either:

• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit

Your energy cost score

Your property must have a high energy cost score to be eligible for the scheme. This is not based on the actual energy costs in your energy bill. It’s calculated based on your property’s type, age and floor area.

For those looking to verify their eligibility for Pension Credit quickly, there are resources available. Older individuals, or their friends and family, can swiftly verify their eligibility and get an estimate of potential benefits by using the online Pension Credit calculator on GOV. UK.

Alternatively, pensioners can directly contact the Pension Credit helpline to make a claim at 0800 99 1234 - lines are open from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.