By Kieran Isgin,Levi Winchester
Copyright manchestereveningnews
The precise date when millions of UK households will receive a letter about the Warm Home Discount scheme has been confirmed. The Warm Home Discount scheme offers a £150 reduction on your electricity bill, with the money being sent directly to your energy provider rather than deposited into your bank account. If you’re eligible for this support, you should expect a letter in the post from 20 October. The Warm Home Discount is available to households where someone was claiming one of the following benefits on the qualifying date of 24 August:. If you reside in England or Wales, you’ll automatically receive the Warm Home Discount. However, if you live in Scotland, the payment is only automatic if you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit. For the other benefits listed above, you’ll need to apply manually by contacting your energy supplier. There is no Warm Home Discount scheme in Northern Ireland. This follows the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) confirming that it is removing the high energy use criteria for the Warm Home Discount in England and Wales. Previously, for benefits other than Pension Credit, you had to demonstrate that you had high energy costs – but this requirement has now been removed. DESNZ has projected that the number of households receiving the discount could increase by 2.7 million, bringing the total to an estimated 6.1 million. Energy bills are due to rise again this winter, with the Ofgem price cap set to increase from £1,720 to £1,755 for a typical dual fuel household paying by direct debit. This change will take effect on 1 October and will remain in place until 31 December, at which point the price cap will be reviewed once more. If you’re on a standard variable rate (SVR) tariff, you’ll be protected by the Ofgem price cap, unless you’re tied into a fixed rate deal. However, there isn’t a total cap on what you can pay for energy. Your bill is still calculated based on your gas and electricity usage. The Ofgem price cap restricts what you can be charged per unit of gas and electricity, as well as standing charges, which are the fixed daily rates you pay for connection to the energy network. The price cap figure represents what a person with average energy consumption can expect to pay annually. Ofgem calculates this based on the assumption that the average household uses 2,700 kWh of electricity and 11,500 kWh of gas over a 12-month period.
