Warm Home Discount delivers £140 bill rebate for 2.2 million vulnerable energy customers
Press release
Publication date
Scheme name
WHD
Almost 2.2 million vulnerable customers received £140 off their energy bills in 2015/16, according to the latest annual report on the government’s Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme.
The report on the fifth year of the WHD, published by scheme administrator Ofgem E-Serve, shows all 11 participating energy suppliers met their obligation to deliver the Warm Home Discount in 2015-16.
The WHD scheme requires all domestic energy suppliers with more than 250,000 customers to provide support to consumers in, or at risk of, fuel poverty.
The support may be direct through rebates or indirect through support to third parties who help customers reduce the impact of fuel poverty.
Suppliers provided £320m of support to nearly 2.2 million vulnerable consumers, including £140 rebates. Of the 1.35m rebates provided to low-income pensioners, 95% received these automatically without having to apply.
Suppliers also spent £14.7m on other activities to support consumers, such as energy advice and help with managing debts.
For the first time under the WHD 1,668 residents of mobile homes were able to receive rebates following a pilot scheme involving seven of the participating suppliers.
Previously mobile home residents did not qualify as they were not direct customers of energy firms, instead paying a site owner for their supply.
Plans are now underway to extend the availability of the WHD to more mobile home residents in scheme year six.
Scheme year six will also see four more suppliers – Extra Energy, Bristol Energy, GB Energy and Our Power – join the scheme for the first time. As voluntary participants the latter three provide support under the Core Group element of the scheme, while Extra Energy join British Gas, EDF Energy, E.on, First Utility, npower, Scottish Power, SSE, Utilita Energy, Ovo Energy and Utility Warehouse as full scheme participants.
David Fletcher, Associate Director of Energy Efficiency and Social Programmes at Ofgem E-Serve, said: “We recognize the contribution the WHD scheme makes to tackling fuel poverty in Great Britain so we are working to improve the scheme wherever we can, such as supporting mobile home residents.
“Due to customers switching supplier to smaller companies, more suppliers are reaching the threshold to be full participants in the WHD scheme.
“I’m delighted to note that in the sixth year of the WHD some suppliers have voluntarily chosen to participate in the scheme to support their vulnerable customers.
“We’ll continue to work with energy suppliers to drive best practice through clear guidance, audit and quality assurance work, monitoring outcomes and compliance with the scheme.”
Notes to editors
- The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is responsible for WHD policy and legislation, while Ofgem E-Serve, the delivery arm of the gas and electricity markets regulator, is the administrator.
- The Warm Home Discount (WHD) annual report sets out the results of the WHD activities carried out by participating suppliers each scheme year, and whether each supplier has complied with their obligations under the scheme. The report is prepared for the Secretary of State, and is published externally by Ofgem E-Serve.
- The WHD scheme provides support through three routes:
- A core group, administered by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, comprising customers automatically identified by suppliers and the Department of Work and Pensions, who receive rebates without having to take any action themselves
- A broader group, who may receive rebates by applying directly to their supplier and meet eligibility criteria
- Industry initiatives which are not obligatory but provide additional support through a variety of means, including funding referral services to sources of support, providing benefit entitlement checks and assistance to claim, providing energy efficiency measures and appliances, providing energy advice, funding training for other organisations to provide energy advice, and providing assistance to reduce or cancel household energy debts.
About Ofgem E-Serve
Ofgem E-Serve delivers green energy and social schemes on behalf of government. Our expertise lies in designing, setting up and delivering large scale programmes in the sustainable energy sector. These programmes are in fields as diverse as renewable heat, renewable electricity, energy efficiency and fuel poverty. We’ve established an impressive track record since 2009, administering schemes worth more than £6 billion a year for less than 0.5 per cent of their total value.
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