DWP deadline warning for anyone who hasn't received £150 energy help

The Warm Home Discount scheme comes to an end on March 31

An energy support scheme worth £150 is coming to an end in a matter of days, with some households still yet to claim.

The Warm Home Discount scheme gives households claiming certain benefits a £150 discount on their electricity bills between October and March each year. This means the deadline to receive the money is in four days time. The money is paid directly into your energy account – rather than into your bank account – by the supplier and usually, it is done automatically for those eligible. Prepay meter customers are sent a voucher which they can use to claim the discount when they need to top up.

Those eligible for the scheme will have been told by their supplier however some people needed to put in a claim and the deadline to do this was February 29. You will not receive the energy discount this winter if you have not put in a claim before this date.

However, if you are eligible and have put in a successful claim but have not received the discount yet you will need to contact the DWP before the March 31 deadline. You can contact the Warm Home Discount Scheme helpline on 0800 030 9322. – it is open from 8am until 6pm, Monday to Friday. However, this Friday (March 29) is a bank holiday, so the helpline will not be open, so if you have not received the money yet, you should contact the DWP today.

Who is eligible for the Warm Home Discount?

The £150 electricity discount is automatically applied if you, or your partner, receive the Guarantee Credit portion of the DWP’s Pension Credit – this is known as “core group one” in England and Wales and “core group” in Scotland.

You may also automatically get the Warm Home Discount if you are on a low income, claiming certain benefits and have high energy costs. This is known as being in the “core group two” if you live in England and Wales. Most people living in England and Wales will not need to make an application for help, but some in Scotland will need to apply. The qualifying means-tested benefits include:

• Income related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income Support
• Universal Credit
• Housing benefit
• Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits
• Pension Credit Savings Credit (PCSC)

To be eligible for this winter’s payment, you need to have been claiming a qualifying benefit on August 13. It’s important to know that not all energy providers are part of the scheme so if your circumstances qualify but your supplier is not signed up then you will not receive the £150 discount.

According to the Government’s website, the following suppliers are taking part in this year’s Warm Home Discount scheme – if your supplier is not on this list then you wouldn’t have been eligible for a discount:

• 100Green (formerly Green Energy UK or GEUK)
• Affect Energy
• Atlantic
• Boost
• British Gas
• Bulb Energy
• Co-op Energy
• E
• Ecotricity
• E.ON Next
• EDF
• Good Energy
• London Power
• Octopus Energy
• Outfox the Market
• OVO
• Rebel Energy
• Sainsbury’s Energy
• Scottish Gas
• Scottish Hydro
• ScottishPower
• Shell Energy Retail
• So Energy
• Southern Electric
• SSE Energy Services
• Swalec
• Tomato Energy
• TruEnergy
• Utilita
• Utility Warehouse