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Help with your energy bills
Most energy help is a discount or payment you do not apply for. What you can get, help with arrears, and a warmer home.
Written by the benefitmoney.co.uk editorial team · Last reviewed 23 October 2026
Most help with energy bills is a discount or a payment you do not apply for — it arrives automatically if you qualify. Start there, then look at grants for arrears, and a warmer home last.
Discounts and payments you may get automatically
Warm Home Discount — £150
A one-off £150 off your electricity bill. In England and Wales for winter 2026 to 2027 you may qualify if, on 23 August 2026, all of these applied: your energy supplier is part of the scheme; you or your partner get a qualifying means-tested benefit (Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit); and your name or your partner’s is on the electricity bill.
- You get a letter between late October 2026 and early January 2027 if you are eligible, or might be and need to give more information.
- If the letter says you are eligible you do not need to do anything. Your supplier applies the discount by 31 March 2027.
- If it asks for more information, call the helpline by 26 February 2027.
- No letter by early January 2027? Contact the Warm Home Discount Scheme.
Scotland has separate rules. The scheme is not available in Northern Ireland. Park home residents use a separate route.
Sources: GOV.UK — Warm Home Discount↗; GOV.UK — If you live in England or Wales↗. Checked 23 October 2026.
Winter Fuel Payment — £100 to £300
For people born on or before 27 June 1960, to help with heating. It is now income-tested by clawback: if your income is over £35,000, HMRC takes it back. Most people are paid automatically in November or December 2026, with a letter in October or November telling you the amount. In Scotland it is replaced by the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.
Source: GOV.UK — Winter Fuel Payment↗. Checked 23 October 2026.
Cold Weather Payment — £25 per cold spell
£25 for each 7-day period of very cold weather between 1 November 2026 and 31 March 2027. It is paid when the average temperature in your area is recorded, or forecast, at 0°C or below for 7 days in a row. You must get certain benefits or Support for Mortgage Interest. You are paid automatically and do not apply. You can check your area on the DWP Cold Weather Payment checker↗ (England and Wales). Scotland has the Winter Heating Payment instead.
Source: GOV.UK — Cold Weather Payment↗. Checked 23 October 2026.
If you are behind on your energy bills
- Talk to your supplier first. Under the rules they must offer affordable payment plans, and can pause action while you sort things out.
- Supplier hardship grants. Several run charitable trusts — the British Gas Energy Trust is open to non-customers — that can clear or reduce arrears.
- Fuel Direct. If you are on certain benefits, small fixed amounts can be taken from your benefit to cover usage and clear arrears — often cheaper than a prepayment top-up.
- Priority Services Register. Free extra support from your supplier and network if you are of pension age, disabled or have a health condition.
Council energy vouchers
Your council’s share of the Household Support Fund — now the Crisis and Resilience Fund often includes energy vouchers or direct help with fuel. It is a grant, and it does not affect your benefits. See what your council does.
A warmer home for less
If the problem is an old boiler or no insulation, there are grants to fix that too — see free boiler and insulation grants.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to apply for the Warm Home Discount?
In England and Wales you usually do not. If you qualify you get a letter between late October 2026 and early January 2027, and your supplier applies the £150 by 31 March 2027. If the letter asks for more information, call the helpline by 26 February 2027. Scotland has separate rules.
Can I still get the Winter Fuel Payment?
If you were born on or before 27 June 1960 you get £100 to £300, but if your income is over £35,000 HMRC takes it back. Scotland has the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment instead.
Do these payments affect my other benefits?
No. The Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payment, Cold Weather Payment and council energy help do not reduce your benefits.
I have run out of credit on a prepayment meter.
Contact your supplier — they can add emergency or friendly-hours credit and must offer support. Your council’s Crisis and Resilience Fund can also help with fuel.
Where you live changes what you can claim
Several of the schemes on this page stop at a border, and the discretionary fund behind them is a different scheme in each nation with its own rules and its own application route. Start from the one that covers you.
| If you live in | The local crisis fund is | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| England | Crisis and Resilience Fund, run by your own council | Find your council — 141 checked so far |
| Scotland | Scottish Welfare Fund | How the Scottish Welfare Fund works |
| Wales | Discretionary Assistance Fund | How the Discretionary Assistance Fund works |
| Northern Ireland | Discretionary Support | How Discretionary Support works |
Charitable funds worth trying
These are the funds named on this page, in one place. Most want a referral from a support worker, an adviser or a social worker rather than an application straight from you — and a charitable grant does not usually affect your benefits, though a large lump sum held as savings can.
- British Gas Energy Trust↗ — help with energy debt, open to customers of any supplier.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Warm Home Discount Scheme↗. Checked 23 October 2026.
- GOV.UK — Winter Fuel Payment↗. Checked 23 October 2026.
- GOV.UK — Cold Weather Payment↗. Checked 23 October 2026.
- GOV.UK — Cost of living help from your local council↗. Checked 10 September 2026.
Other grant guides
- All grants — every scheme on this site, and the order worth trying them in.
- Boiler and insulation grants — ECO4, who qualifies, and the scams to avoid.
- School uniform grants — what each nation pays, and England’s gap.
This page is independent. It is not run by the DWP, GOV.UK or any energy supplier. Amounts and scheme windows change — the GOV.UK pages linked above are the current position.