State pensioners given free £150 payment from British Gas, EDF and OVO in November

State pensioners are in line to receive a free payout worth £150 this November to help keep warm during winter.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has extended its Warm Home Discount scheme for 2024/25 to support households in, or at risk, of fuel poverty.

The scheme gives eligible households a direct energy bill payment worth £150, with the discount applied automatically to bills.

If you qualify, your electricity supplier will apply the discount straight to your bill, rather than the money being paid into your bank account directly.

If you live in England and Wales, you’ll be eligible to receive it if you get either the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, or you’re on a low income and have high energy costs.

You should also get the discount automatically in England and Wales if you claim any of the following benefits and have high energy costs:

  • 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

If you live in Scotland, the same criteria applies but you must also meet your energy supplier’s criteria for the scheme. Unfortunately, the scheme is not available to anyone who lives in Northern Ireland.

You need to have been claiming Pension Credit on the qualifying date of August 11, 2024.

If you’re eligible, you’ll get a letter between now and early January 2025 confirming that you don’t need to do anything and the discount will be applied to your bill automatically by March 31, 2025.

In some cases, the DWP may require more information and you’ll get a letter asking you to call the helpline by February 28, 2025 to confirm your details.

If you’re a prepayment customer you can still qualify for the discount and your electricity supplier can tell you how the discount will be applied if you’re eligible. This will normally involve being sent a voucher to top-up your meter.

The following energy suppliers are all part of the Warm Home Discount scheme and will issue the £150 discount to eligible households:

  • 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

  • Fuse Energy

  • Good Energy

  • Home 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

If you don’t get a letter by early January 2025 and you think you’re eligible for the scheme, you should contact the Warm Home Discount Scheme helpline on 0800 030 9322 before February 28, 2025.

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