State pensioners given free £150 from British Gas, OVO, EDF and E.ON

State pensioners across the UK are being given a free £150 discount from major energy suppliers this winter, including British Gas, OVO, EDF and E.ON.

The discount is part of the government’s Warm Home Discount scheme and is applied directly to household electricity bills by suppliers.

Pensioners in England and Wales will qualify for the £150 off if you get either the Guarantee element of Pension Credit, or you’re on a low income, have high energy costs and claim any of these qualifying benefits:

• Housing Benefit

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

• Income Support

• the ‘Savings Credit’ part of Pension Credit

• Universal Credit

You may also be eligible if your household income falls below a certain threshold and you get either Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit.

The same criteria applies to pensioners living in Scotland but you must also meet your energy supplier’s criteria for the scheme. Unfortunately, the scheme is not available in Northern Ireland.

Households that qualify should get a letter between October 2024 and January 2025 confirming that you don’t need to do anything and the discount will be applied to your bill automatically.

You should get the £150 discount by March 31, 2025, and this will be taken off your energy bill directly by your supplier.

British Gas, OVO, EDF and E.ON are among the main energy suppliers taking part in the scheme, as well as:

• 100Green (formerly Green Energy UK or GEUK)

• Affect Energy – see Octopus Energy

• Boost

• Bulb Energy – see Octopus Energy

• Co-op Energy – see Octopus Energy

• E – also known as E (Gas and Electricity)

• Ecotricity

• Fuse Energy

• Good Energy

• Home Energy

• London Power

• Octopus Energy

• Outfox the Market

• Rebel Energy

• Sainsbury’s Energy

• Scottish Gas – see British Gas

• ScottishPower

• Shell Energy Retail

• So Energy

• Tomato Energy

• TruEnergy

• Utilita

• Utility Warehouse

If you think you’re eligible for the discount but don’t receive a letter by early January 2025 you should contact the Warm Home Discount Scheme helpline on 0800 030 9322 before the deadline of February 28, 2025.