The Warm Home Discount is a one-off £150 discount applied to your electricity bill or prepayment meter between early October and March each year. You will qualify automatically if you are either:

• In receipt of Guaranteed Pension Credit (otherwise known as the ‘Core Group’)
• On a low income and have high energy costs (‘Core Group 2’)

If you are eligible, (or you are required to provide more information) you will receive a letter between October and February  informing you. You no longer need to make an application to your supplier. 

Eligibility criteria for Core Group 2:

• 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.

If you think you are eligible but do not do not receive the letter by January 2024 you can contact the helpline on 0800 030 9322 or write to them at:

110552 Warm Home Discount Scheme
PO Box 26965
Glasgow
G1 9BW.

Available to you if you are of pensionable age, have a disability, have young children, hearing or visual impairment or have a short- or long-term health issue. Suppliers can provide extra support such as large print documents, provide meter readers if you are unable to access them and work with the network distributers to prioritise your property if there is a power cut or gas issue. If you are on the register some suppliers will also have a separate telephone line if you need to contact them.  Next time you contact your supplier tell them about your circumstances and they will add you to the Priority Service Register. 

All the big energy firms have charitable trusts and funds that can help if you're in debt and struggling to repay. They offer schemes and grants to help with your energy costs and energy debt. See below some of these trusts and funds:

• British Gas Energy Trust (open to customers of all suppliers)  
• EDF Energy Support Fund
• EON Energy Trust Fund 
• EON Next Energy Fund 
• Ovo Energy Fund 
• Octo Assist Fund 
• Scottish Power Hardship fund  

Anyone can apply to them if they are in financial hardship and struggling to pay back arrears on their gas and electric. Once the application is complete it is reviewed by the trust board and if successful the applicant may be awarded part on full payment towards their arrears. All applications are based on an individual basis. 

If you are interested and require support to apply for a trust fund, please contact us to arrange a home visit on 0161 474 4062 or email [email protected] 

If you're a Stockport resident, you can apply for Support Funds to: 

• help you when you're at your most vulnerable 
• provide you with a safety net in an emergency, when there's an immediate threat to your health or safety 
• support you to live independently in your own home 
• link you to other services that will help and support you 
• make sure that support is joined up 
• give more flexibility about how we meet the needs of Stockport residents 

Stockport Council will assess your application and work with you to support your needs. Visit the Stockport Council financial support in a crisis web page for more information and the application form.

Additional support 

If you’re struggling financially and want some free, independent and confidential advice around helping you manage your money, you can contact any of the following: 

• Stockport Homes Money Advice Team on 0161 217 6016 or email [email protected] 
• StepChange Debt Charity on free phone 0800 138 1111 or visit www.stepchange.org 
• National Debtline on free phone 0808 808 4000 or visit www.nationaldebtline.org  
• Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06 or visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk/energy 

From 1st July 2024 the energy price cap set by regulator Ofgem will fall by 7% for the third quarter of 2024

• A typical household paying by direct debit for dual fuel can expect to pay an average of £1,568 per year. This is an annual drop of £122 compared to the previous quarter.
• The average household paying by prepayment meter for dual fuel will pay an annual total of £1,522
• Dual fuel standard credit customers paying on receipt of bill will pay £1,668.
• It is important to remember that the price cap is the limit per unit of energy that your supplier is allowed to charge and not a cap on your total yearly bill. The amount you end up paying depends on how much energy your household uses.

The next price cap review will take place in August 2024 and will come into effect on 1^st October 2024

Contacting your energy provider is often the quickest route to getting extra emergency credit – especially if you are already off supply or at risk of going off supply. Most providers have a policy to offer an amount of discretionary credit that is usually enough to last you until you are next in a position to top-up. If you are a smart prepayment meter then there may be a facility on your suppliers’ smartphone app to request extra credit remotely.

Each supplier operates a customer service helpline and often an online webchat facility that can be accessed via their website. Sometimes they can be contacted via social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Below is a list of the main energy suppliers’ contact phone numbers and links to their online help and support:

Boost – 0330 102 7517 - https://www.boostpower.co.uk/customer-support-package

British Gas – 0333 202 9802  https://www.britishgas.co.uk/help-and-support/breakdowns/if-you-dont-have-gas-or-electricity-but-have-a-pay-as-you-go-meter

EDF – 0333 200 5100 - https://www.edfenergy.com/help-support/pay-as-you-go

E Energy – 0333 103 9575 - https://www.e.org/help

Eon Next – 0808 501 5200 - https://www.eonnext.com/help/spayg

Octopus Energy – 0808 164 1088 - https://octopus.energy/help-and-faqs/

OVO/SSE – 0330 303 5063 - https://help.ovoenergy.com/categories?c=pay_as_you_go

Scottish Power – 0345 270 0700 - https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/getintouch

Shell Energy – 0330 094 5800 - https://help.shellenergy.co.uk/hc/en-us/sections/360002309917-Understanding-Prepayment-meters

SSE (see OVO)

Utilita – 0345 207 2000 - https://utilita.co.uk/help

Utility Warehouse – 0333 777 0777 - https://help.uw.co.uk/category/energy

Contacting your energy supplier is usually the quickest way to get support – especially if you are already off supply or at risk of going off supply. Your supplier will assess your circumstances and may loan an amount of discretionary credit to last until you are next in a position to top-up. If you have a smart meter then this facility may be available through the supplier app. If you have difficulty contacting your supplier or they refuse to offer help then you can contact the Stockport Homes Energy Team on 0161 474 4072 for further support

Each supplier operates a customer service helpline and often an online webchat facility that can be accessed via their website or app. Sometimes they can be contacted via social media platforms such as Facebook.

Occasionally we may have access to funding that allows us to provide fuel vouchers for households finding it difficult to pay for energy. This availability is very infrequent so it is always best to contact your supplier in the first instance.

Most large energy providers occasionally have hardship funds available to help with energy arrears. More details can be found through this website or by contacting your energy supplier. The Turn2Us website also has information on energy grants. If you would prefer to discuss this with one of our energy advisors, they will be able to provide more information or assist you with completing application forms.

If you have solar panels then they may help you make small savings on your energy bills. The electricity generated by the panels during daylight hours contributes towards some of the energy used during normal activities such as watching TV, charging phones, showering etc. However, power is not usually stored so once they stop generating you will go back to drawing all your electricity from the main power grid. More information is available by contacting the Energy Solutions Team.

Electricity unit rates are on average 3 times the cost of gas. Therefore it is cheaper to use your gas heating system to heat a room. Portable electric heaters and electric fires may look cheap to run but are in fact very expensive. 

Note - Electric storage heaters use a cheaper overnight electricity rate to store heat                           

If you want to know the most cost effective way of using your heating you can request a home visit from one of our energy advisors.

Air source and ground source heat pumps are very energy efficient and will save you money if used correctly. User guides are available on this website but you can request a visit from one of our energy advisors who can show you the most effective way to use your system.

Your registered electricity supplier can be found at www.enwl.co.uk/forms/who-is-my-supplier/ or call free on 105 or 0800 195 4141  

Your registered gas supplier can be found at www.findmysupplier.energy/ or call 0800 389 8000.