Warm Home Discount 2026/27: £150 Letters, Who Qualifies, Dates
Warm Home Discount letters started arriving on October 22, 2026. Here is who qualifies for £150 off electricity bills in England, Wales and Scotland, the February 26, 2027 helpline deadline and how to avoid scams.
- Letters confirming £150 off electricity bills go out from October 22, 2026 to early January 2027, to about six million households in Britain.
- In England and Wales, people on Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or income-related ESA on August 23, 2026 qualify automatically; Scotland has different rules.
- If your letter asks you to call 0800 030 9322, do it by February 26, 2027. The scheme never asks for bank details.
Warm Home Discount letters for winter 2026/27 started arriving on Thursday, October 22, 2026, and will keep going out until early January 2027. They confirm a £150 discount off electricity bills for about six million households in England, Scotland and Wales. Most people need do nothing, but if your letter asks you to call the helpline, you must do so by February 26, 2027.
This guide explains who qualifies, how the rules differ in Scotland, the key dates and how to avoid scams. It is accurate as of October 27, 2026. It is general information only; check your own eligibility on GOV.UK's Warm Home Discount guide or with the official helpline.
What is the Warm Home Discount?
The Warm Home Discount is a one-off £150 reduction on your electricity bill, applied by your supplier during the winter. It is not paid to you as cash. If the same company supplies your gas and electricity, you may be able to have it taken off your gas bill instead.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero says around six million households in Britain will get it this winter. Close to 2.3 million extra families received it last winter after the rules were widened, about a million of them with children. The scheme is confirmed to run until 2030/31.
Energy suppliers with more than 1,000 domestic customers must take part. According to the House of Commons Library, they recover the cost through the bills of all their customers. The scheme does not run in Northern Ireland, which has separate help.
The £150 is separate from the removal of VAT from household electricity bills on October 1, 2026, and from the average £150 of costs taken off bills by last year's Budget, the government said in July. Our UK Budget 2026 guide covers the wider cost-of-living measures.
Who qualifies in England and Wales?
Eligibility depends on your circumstances on the qualifying date, Sunday, August 23, 2026. On that date, GOV.UK says, all three of these must have applied:
- Your electricity supplier was part of the scheme.
- You or your partner received a qualifying means-tested benefit: Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit.
- Your name, or your partner's, was on the electricity bill.
Some supplier guidance, such as Octopus Energy's, also lists income-based Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support. People in this group, known as the "core group", are matched automatically using government data, so there is no form to fill in.
Prepayment and pay-as-you-go customers can still qualify. Your supplier will explain how you receive it, which may be a voucher to top up your meter. Park home residents who pay their site owner for electricity use a separate Park Homes Warm Home Discount scheme.
How is Scotland different?
Scotland has its own version of the scheme, with two routes. The qualifying date is also August 23, 2026.
Core group: automatic
From this winter, the automatic group in Scotland uses the same qualifying benefits as the Scottish Winter Heating Payment. Energy minister Martin McCluskey told a Commons committee in April that about 345,000 Scottish households a year should get the automatic rebate, roughly 250,000 more than in 2025-26. Under GOV.UK's list, you are in this group if, on the qualifying date, you or your partner got:
- Pension Credit
- a disability or health top-up within Universal Credit
- a disability or pensioner premium with income-related ESA, or with a Support for Mortgage Interest loan
- certain benefits while caring for a child under five, such as Universal Credit while not working
Broader group: you must apply
If you are on a low income in Scotland but not in the core group, you may be able to apply to your energy supplier under the "broader group". Places are limited and each supplier sets its own process, so GOV.UK advises applying early, even if you got the discount last year. You must stay with that supplier until the discount is paid. Turn2us notes that applications are usually oversubscribed.
Key dates for winter 2026/27
- August 23, 2026: qualifying date for benefits and the name on the bill
- October 22, 2026 to early January 2027: confirmation letters arrive
- Early January 2027: if you think you qualify but have had no letter, contact the scheme
- February 26, 2027: deadline to call the helpline if your letter asks you to
- March 31, 2027: date by which suppliers must apply the £150
The official helpline is 0800 030 9322, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, according to GOV.UK. Relay UK users can dial 18001 then 0800 229 4325. Sources give different dates for when the line opened this year, so check GOV.UK if you cannot get through.
What does your letter mean?
The letter comes by post from the Warm Home Discount Scheme. It says one of two things:
- No action needed: your supplier will apply the £150 by March 31, 2027.
- Call the helpline: the government needs more information to confirm your details. You must call before February 26, 2027, or you will not get the discount this winter.
When you call, Octopus Energy suggests having your letter's reference number, your full address and postcode, and the name of your supplier on August 23 ready. If you switched supplier after the qualifying date, the supplier you had on August 23 pays the discount.
If no letter arrives by early January 2027 and you think you qualify, contact the scheme before February 26, IBTimes UK and GOV.UK say. In Scotland, people who applied directly to their supplier under the broader group will not get a letter and should contact the supplier instead.
How to spot Warm Home Discount scams
Scammers often copy official schemes. In its October 22 release, the government told people not to follow suspicious links or enter financial details if asked by email, text or phone, and to contact their supplier only through their usual route. Octopus Energy adds that neither the government nor Ofgem will contact you asking for bank details.
- You never need to pay or give bank details to get the discount; it goes on your energy bill.
- If a message asks you to call a number, check it against GOV.UK first.
- Forward suspicious texts to 7726 and suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk, as GOV.UK advises.
- If you have lost money, contact Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 in England and Wales, or Police Scotland.
Did the Budget change the discount?
No. The October 28 Budget left the £150 Warm Home Discount unchanged. The Guardian had reported in early October that an extra £100 on top of the £150 was being considered, according to The Independent and Reuters. Instead, the Budget 2026 document announced a separate £100 Household Energy Payment for homes in council tax bands A to D in England from January 2027, delivered through the council tax system.
The background is rising bills. Ofgem raised the price cap by 4% for a typical dual-fuel household from October 1, and it announces the January to March cap on November 25, 2026. The Resolution Foundation expects the typical bill to reach about £2,000 from January.
What to watch for
- Details of the separate £100 Household Energy Payment, due from January 2027 for council tax bands A to D in England
- Ofgem's price cap announcement on November 25 for January to March 2027
- Your letter, if you have not had one by early January
- The February 26, 2027 helpline deadline
If you are struggling to pay now, Ofgem says your supplier must help if you ask, for example with a repayment plan or emergency credit.
Our take
Based on the official guidance, the main risk for eligible households is missing a step rather than missing out on eligibility. People whose letter asks them to call, and Scottish households outside the automatic group, need to act. Everyone else should simply check their bill by the end of March. Anything about the scheme that arrives by text, email or an unexpected call deserves suspicion.
Frequently asked questions
When will I get my Warm Home Discount letter?
GOV.UK says letters go out between late October 2026 and early January 2027, starting on October 22. If you think you qualify and have had no letter by early January, contact the Warm Home Discount Scheme before February 26, 2027.
Do I need to apply for the £150 Warm Home Discount?
In England and Wales, no: eligible households are matched automatically using benefit records. In Scotland, the core group is automatic, but other low-income households must apply to their energy supplier under the broader group, where places are limited.
When will the £150 be paid?
It is not paid as cash. Your electricity supplier takes £150 off your bill, or may give prepayment customers a top-up voucher, by March 31, 2027.
What is the Warm Home Discount helpline number?
GOV.UK lists 0800 030 9322, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, with Relay UK on 18001 then 0800 229 4325. If your letter asks you to call, you must do so before February 26, 2027. Check the number on GOV.UK rather than using one from an unexpected text or email.
Will the Warm Home Discount go up to £250?
No. The October 28, 2026 Budget did not change the £150 discount. It announced a separate £100 Household Energy Payment for homes in council tax bands A to D in England from January 2027. Check GOV.UK for how that payment will reach you.
Sources
- Households to receive £150 Warm Home Discount confirmation letter, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (GOV.UK)
- Millions reminded to get £150 off energy bills this winter, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (GOV.UK)
- Warm Home Discount Scheme (printable guide), GOV.UK
- Report suspicious emails, websites, text messages and phone calls, GOV.UK
- Changes to energy price cap between 1 October and 31 December 2026, Ofgem
- Draft Warm Home Discount (Scotland) Regulations 2026 (Second Delegated Legislation Committee, 27 April 2026), Hansard, UK Parliament
- The Warm Home Discount (WHD), House of Commons Library
- Warm Home Discount Scheme (England, Scotland, Wales), Turn2us
- The Warm Home Discount: 2026/2027 updates, Octopus Energy
- UK Government To Send £150 Energy Bill Discount Letters as Some Recipients Face a 2027 Call Deadline, International Business Times UK
- Poorer UK households could be given extra money in Budget to help with rising energy bills, The Independent (via Yahoo News)
- Factbox-Options for UK finance minister Healey in October 28 budget, Reuters (via Yahoo Finance UK)
- The Chancellor must balance support for struggling families at the Budget with the need to rebuild confidence in the public finances as headroom halved to £12 billion, Resolution Foundation
- Budget 2026 (HTML), HM Treasury (GOV.UK)
How we wrote this
GessyMorgan explainers are built from public reporting and official sources. This post draws on the 14 sources listed above, each linked where we use it. It was drafted with AI assistance and checked against those sources before publishing. We did not test products, attend events or interview anyone for this article. Facts are current as of October 29, 2026, and we update the post when they change.
