Help with your energy bills

A one-off £150 off your electricity bill for winter 2026 to 2027, which your supplier takes off the bill rather than paying you.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK

• Who: in England and Wales, households on Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK, on the qualifying date, 23 August 2026[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK. Around 6 million households are eligible this winter.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK
• How: usually automatic; in Scotland you may need to apply to your supplier[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK. If they can’t confirm you qualify, you’ll get a letter asking you to call the Warm Home Discount helpline.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK
• Prepayment: you still get it; your supplier will say how, for example a voucher to top up[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK.
• When: on 7 October 2026 GOV.UK said the scheme would reopen in October 2026[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK, without a date for letters or discounts. We’ll update this when it does.

It doesn’t affect the Cold Weather Payment or Winter Fuel Payment.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK It isn’t available in Northern Ireland.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK

£100 to £300 if you were born on or before 27 June 1960.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK Living alone, it’s £200 if you were born 28 September 1946 to 27 June 1960, and £300 if born before 28 September 1946.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK

• Higher income: if your income is over £35,000, HMRC takes it back, usually through your tax code or your Self Assessment tax bill.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK
• How: most people get it automatically, with a letter in October or November and payment in November or December 2026[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK. If you need to claim, the deadline is 31 March 2027.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK
• Where: England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland you can’t get it, but you may get Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK

£25 for each 7-day period of very cold weather between 1 November 2026 and 31 March 2027[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK, when your area’s average temperature is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0°C or below for 7 days in a row[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK.

• Who: people on Pension Credit, income-related ESA, Universal Credit or Support for Mortgage Interest (with extra conditions for some)[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK.
• How: automatic, usually within 14 working days of each cold spell[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK.

Your supplier and your network operator each keep one. Being on it gets you extra help, such as priority support in an emergency.[Ofgem]Source: Ofgem

• Who: anyone who has reached state pension age, is pregnant or has young children, lives with a disability or long-term condition, or struggles with speaking or reading English, among others[Ofgem]Source: Ofgem.
• How: contact your supplier or network operator. If your gas and electricity come from different suppliers, contact each, and re-register if you switch.[Ofgem]Source: Ofgem

Councils’ help with essential costs, including energy bills, is now the Crisis and Resilience Fund, from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK Ask your council how to apply.

• Boiler Upgrade Scheme (England and Wales): £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump, £5,000 towards a biomass boiler and £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK. Until March 2027 there’s an extra £1,500 for a heat pump if your home runs on oil or LPG with no mains gas.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK Your MCS-certified installer applies for you and takes the grant off the price.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK
• ECO4: runs until 31 December 2026, after a 9-month extension[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK. It can fund insulation, boiler repair or replacement and heating upgrades if you claim certain benefits and live in a private home with a low energy rating[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK.
• Warm Homes: Local Grant: free energy-saving improvements arranged and paid for by your council, if you’re eligible and it’s funded[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK. England only.[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK
• Great British Insulation Scheme: ended on 31 March 2026[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK.

The government’s Warm Homes Plan commits £15 billion to upgrade up to 5 million homes[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK, and plans to merge the low-income grants into a single scheme from 2027/28[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK. It also plans low- and zero-interest loans for home upgrades[GOV.UK]Source: GOV.UK, with no start date yet.