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A winter support scheme to help vulnerable households with their energy bills will be launching on Wednesday. Certain low-income pensioners will qualify for the Warm Home Discount, along with everyone who claims Universal Credit . The discount knocks £150 off energy bills one time only over winter and is designed to help some of the worst-off households struggling with cost of living pressures. READ MORE: Keir Starmer confirms October cost of living payments for six million households Get our best money saving tips and hacks by signing up to our newsletter The discount is applied directly to bills rather than a cash payment, but it allows millions of households to make crucial savings to spend elsewhere over the expensive winter period. Low-income pensioners on the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit will qualify. This year the WHD is being extended to around three million more households who receive Universal Credit or certain other benefits. The scheme launches in October but it's up to energy companies to decide when to pass on savings to customers. This could be as late as March, though British Gas says most of its customers should receive the discount by the end of January. The energy giant said: "The WHD scheme for Winter 2025/2026 will begin for our core customers across England, Wales & Scotland in October 2025. "If you qualify for the winter 2025/26 payment, you will have your one-off £150 discount applied between November 2025 - March 31, 2026 at the latest, with most customers receiving their WHD before January 2026. "The discount will be added to your electricity account as a credit. "And if you're on pay as you go, we'll send you a voucher you can use to top up your meter at a Post Office. "If you're one of our Pay As You Go smart meter customers, we'll even send it directly to your meter as a credit and send you an email to let you know it's on there."
