To be eligible for the £150 WHD rebate in England and Wales you must first buy your energy from a participating energy supplier and meet the eligibility criteria for the Core 1 or Core Group 2 elements of the scheme. Not all energy suppliers are part of the WHD scheme.
You may be able to benefit under the Industry Initiative element of the scheme even if you don’t buy your energy from a participating supplier, since these tend to target wider groups of fuel poor consumers. You can speak to any obligated energy supplier about the Industry Initiatives they offer, you do not have to buy your energy from them.
We have outlined Warm Home Discount eligibility requirements for each aspect of the scheme below. However, please note that list is non-exhaustive, and you should consult our WHD draft guidance version 8 for England and Wales, the government response to the consultation on the WHD from 2022 or your energy supplier for further detail on eligibility requirements.
What is the Core Group 1?
The Core Group 1 is an element of the WHD scheme intended to support some pensioners, through a direct annual rebate of £150 to their electricity or gas accounts.
You are eligible for the rebate in scheme year 12 (1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023) if on the qualifying date all of the following criteria applied:
- Your energy supplier is a participating compulsory or voluntary supplier,
- You or your partner’s name is on the energy bill, and
- You receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit.
Most customers identified as eligible for the Core Group 1 rebate receive this automatically because of a data matching exercise between energy suppliers and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
If you qualify for the WHD under the Core Group 1 you will receive a letter in autumn or winter telling you that you’ll get the discount automatically.
What is the Core Group 2?
The Core Group 2 element of the Warm Home Discount scheme places an obligation on compulsory participant suppliers to provide £150 rebates automatically to low-income households that are more likely to have high energy costs and therefore most in need of support with energy bills. Households in receipt of certain means-tested benefits and income-capped Tax Credits would be deemed as low income and are eligible under the Core Group 2. These include:
- Income related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income Support
- Universal Credit
- Housing benefit
- Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits
- Pension Credit Savings Credit (PCSC).
Government-held data is used to identify low-income and high-energy-cost households under Core Group 2. Data is matched on benefits and Tax Credit receipt, which is held by DWP, property characteristics, provided by the VOA, and customer accounts held by the participating energy suppliers. Other data sources would also be used by the government where data is missing or by customers to provide alternative evidence. Further information on this process can be found in the government consultation on the WHD from 2022.
Those households who, in absence of VOA data, have had any of their property characteristics imputed, will be contacted by letter. The Government would therefore send additional letters informing you either that:
- You are eligible to receive an automatic rebate and do not need to take any action; or
- You may call the helpline to use alternative evidence. If your energy costs are below the threshold and your costs have been calculated on the basis of imputed characteristics, you will be contacted and directed to the helpline should you wish to challenge the decision.
