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 can find more information on the Gov.UK website(opens in a new window)

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(opens in a new window)

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)(opens in a new window)  
• EDF Energy Support Fund(opens in a new window)
• EON Energy Trust Fund (opens in a new window)
• EON Next Energy Fund(opens in a new window) 
• Ovo Energy Fund(opens in a new window) 
• Octo Assist Fund(opens in a new window) 
• Scottish Power Hardship fund(opens in a new window)  

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'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(opens in a new window) 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 the Step Change website(opens in a new window)  
• National Debtline on free phone 0808 808 4000 or visit the National Debtline website(opens in a new window)
• Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06 or visit the Citizens Advice website(opens in a new window)

Ofgem have set the energy price cap between 1 April and 30 June 2026 at £1,641 per year for a typical household paying for gas and electricity by Direct Debit. This is a decrease of 6.6% compared to the cap set between 1 January to 31 March 2026 (£1,758). The price cap is based on typical household energy use.

The price cap protects consumers who are on standard, variable or flexible tariffs. 

However, it is important to review your energy tariff if you haven’t done so in the last 12 months to make sure you are getting the best deal available from your supplier. Many fixed-rate tariffs can often work out cheaper.

Despite the ongoing events in the Middle East, the price cap will keep energy prices stable until the end of June. However, prices after this date may be affected, so it is advisable to check your tariff and lock into a fixed rate to protect from any potential price increases later in the year.

More information can be found on the Ofgem website at www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/energy-price-cap-explained(opens in a new window)

Additionally, the government announced in their Autumn Budget that an average of £150 would be taken off the costs of energy bills from April to help with the cost of living. Your energy supplier may have contacted you already about this, but more information can be found at www.gov.uk/government/news/your-energy-bill-from-april-whats-changing(opens in a new window) 

If you want help to review tariffs or speak about energy prices, you can contact the Stockport Homes Energy Team at [email protected] or call 0161 474 4062.

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:

British Gas – call 0333 808 3880 or visit the British Gas website(opens in a new window)

EDF – call 0333 006 9950 or visit the EDF website(opens in a new window)

E Energy – call 0333 103 9575 or visit the E Energy website(opens in a new window)

Eon Next – call 0808 501 5200 or visit the Eon Next website(opens in a new window)

Octopus Energy – call 0808 164 1088 or visit the Octopus Energy website(opens in a new window)

OVO – call 0330 303 5063 or visit the OVO website(opens in a new window)

Scottish Power – call 0345 270 0700  or visit the Scottish Power website

Utilita – call 0345 207 2000 or visit the Utilita website

Utility Warehouse –call 0333 777 0777 or visit the Utility Warehouse website

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. 

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.

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                           

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 the SP Electricity North West website(opens in a new window) or call free on 105 or 0800 195 4141  

Your registered gas supplier can be found at the Find My Supplier website(opens in a new window) or call 0800 389 8000.