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Updated on 08/10/24 by Emmanuelle_OVO:

 

What is the Warm Home Discount (WHD)?

 

The Warm Home Discount is a one-off £150 discount given to eligible domestic electricity customers to help with their energy costs. It's usually paid between October and March of each scheme year. It's a Government scheme funded by participating energy suppliers like us. It’s designed to help people who need it most.

 

The Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme is closed for the scheme year 2023/24 and will reopen again later this year. 

 

The Warm Home Discount (Broader Group) has now opened to applications from our customers based in Scotland.

 

Customers can apply online here. 

 

Broader Group Eligibility Criteria can be found here.
 

We encourage all customers who believe they fall into the Broader group (Scotland Only) to apply online via the OVO and Boost websites. 

 

However, If a customer needs some assistance completing their WHD application please contact our support team. 

 

OVO Broader Group: https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/warm-home-discount-scheme 

 

Boost Broader Group: https://www.boostpower.co.uk/help/support/how-do-i-get-the-warm-home-discount 

 

Ways to get financial support

 

If you’re struggling financially or you’re worried about your energy bills, we’re here to support you. Find out about the different ways we can help here.

 

How do I register for the Priority Services Register (PSR)?

 

Check out the Customer Support package here: https://winter-support-package.ovoenergy.com/

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What is the Warm Home Discount (WHD)?

 

The Warm Home Discount is a one-off £150 discount given to eligible domestic electricity customers to help with their energy costs. It's usually paid between October and March of each scheme year. It's a Government scheme funded by participating energy suppliers like us. It’s designed to help people who need it most.

 

Key changes in numbers

  • WHD spending is increasing from £350 million to £475 million across all suppliers 

  • 780,000 more households will receive the rebate

  • 560,000 more fuel poor households will get help 

  • The Warm Home discount rebate is increasing from £140 to £150

  • 59% of recipients under the new scheme will be fuel poor compared to around 47% of recipients for the current scheme

 

These changes will apply for the next four years. 

 

England and Wales

 

If you live in England or Wales you don’t need to apply for the Warm Home Discount but you will need to meet the eligibility criteria set by the Government. This is split into two Core Groups:

  • Core Group 1 - for people who get Guaranteed element of Pension Credit
  • Core Group 2 - for people who get qualifying means-tested benefits or tax credits

 

The eligibility qualifying date for both groups is 13 August 2023. The Government will write to benefit claimants between October and December 2023.

 

What do I do if I don't get a letter?

In some cases the Government will write to you to request more information. It's important you give them this information by 28 February 2024 to be considered for the discount. We can only apply the discount once we’ve been told to by the Government.

 

Core Group 1

To be considered for the discount:

  • You or you partner were named on the domestic electricity bill on 13 August 2023.
  • You were supplied by part of the OVO Family on the 13th August. If you were supplied by another supplier participating in the scheme on the 13th August, that supplier will be told to give you the discount even if we're now supplying you.
  • You or your partner got the Guaranteed element of Pension Credit on the qualifying date.

Core Group 2

To be considered for the discount:

  • You or you partner were named on the domestic electricity bill on 13 August 2023.

  • You were supplied by part of the OVO Family on the 13th August. If you were supplied by another supplier participating in the scheme on the 13th August, that supplier will be told to give you the discount even if we're now supplying you.

  • You or you partner receive the following qualifying means-tested benefits or tax credits:

    • 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 could also qualify if your household income falls below a certain level and you get either:

    • Child Tax Credit

    • Working Tax Credit

  • Your property has a high energy cost score. This is partly based on details of your property like its type, how old it is, and the overall floor size etc. The Department for Works & Pensions (DWP) will work with the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to work out your property energy score. The Government will write to you if they need more information.

 

Please note that OVO’s Support team aren’t in a position to advise you on your benefits or warm home discount eligibility. If you’re not sure of any of the details above, Citizens Advice are well place to offer help and support.

 

Scotland

 

If you live in Scotland, there are two groups:

  • Core group - you won't need to apply, but you must meet eligibility criteria.
  • Broader group - you'll need to apply for the discount which will be applied on a first come, first served basis.

 

Core Group

To be considered for the discount:

  • You or you partner were named on the domestic electricity bill on 13 August 2023.
  • You were supplied by part of the OVO Family on the 13th August. If you were supplied by another supplier participating in the scheme on the 13th August, that supplier will be told to give you the discount even if we're now supplying you.
  • You or your partner got the Guaranteed element of Pension Credit on the qualifying date.

 

The eligibility qualifying date is 13 August 2023. The Government will write to benefit claimants between October and December 2023.

 

What do I do if I don't get a letter?

In some cases the Government will write to you to request more information. It's important you give them this information by 28 February 2024 to be considered for the discount. We can only apply the discount once we’ve been told to by the Government.

 

Broader Group

 

Eligibility for the discount as part of the Broader group is on a first come first served basis. You can apply if you if you live in Scotland and don’t meet the Core Group eligibility.

Apply online (Scottish Broader Group)

 

You can also check out our own dedicated webpage with all of the most up to date information on the Warm Home Discount: https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/warm-home-discount-scheme.

 

Ways to get financial support

If you’re struggling financially or you’re worried about your energy bills, we’re here to support you. Find out about the different ways we can help here.

How do I register for the Priority Services Register (PSR)?

Check out our Customer Support Package here: https://winter-support-package.ovoenergy.com/

Hey @Amaryllis ,

If you’re in Scotland, you need to apply manually. Otherwise it’s fully automated.

Thanks for replying. I’ve edited my post to include the fact that I’m too young to get it autoatically.

Or am i misunderstanding?

I live in England.

There’s a variety of case circumstances. 
You can check the scheme and details here https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme

but I’m not sure that you can check to see if you’ve already applied. If you think you should get it, then follow the advice. No-one here has access to your account and so can’t check unfortunately. From my understanding, you should get a letter or perhaps an email

There’s a variety of case circumstances. 
You can check the scheme and details here https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme

but I’m not sure that you can check to see if you’ve already applied. If you think you should get it, then follow the advice. No-one here has access to your account and so can’t check unfortunately. From my understanding, you should get a letter or perhaps an email

I’ve had the discount a few times - every time I’ve applied I’ve been given it.

It changes slightly every year wrt emails you get.

Does anyone know how it appeared on their bill this year? that would help me check if I’ve already had it this year.

As with previous years, it’d appear under Charges in detail and would be instantly recognisable as being a Warm Home Discount.

Yes, it will be in the bottom part of the bill and will be taken off your energy cost so on first sight you may not notice. If you look at the detail as Blastoise says, it should be shown as Warm Home Discount

I applied for the warm home discount because I got a letter phoned both the number on letter and boost and I'm still waiting? I need it now not in summer , frightened to put heating on I have a 9 year old autistic boy that I also look after I suffer with osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia and this cold is really hurting me.

Hey @Shell29878 ,

I’m really sorry to hear this. You said you’re with Boost, so have you tried the Live Chat via their homepage at https://boostpower.co.uk by any chance?

I also noted the health conditions you reported. As a forum volunteer, I do have a deep understanding of these things and I suspect that Pay As You Go probably isn’t suitable for you. Have you ever considered switching to Pay Monthly with OVO by any chance? You definitely would be in much better shape that way and wouldn’t ever have to worry about being cold because your credit is running out.

If you’d like to switch over, the Boost Support Team can make the arrangements to get your account migrated to OVO.

I have also informed the forum moderators of this thread, as they might be able to offer some additional advice.

You also qualify for OVO’s Customer Support Package even though you’re on Boost. If you’d like to request that, feel free to check out https://winter-support-package.ovoenergy.com/ as that may also provide something that you can use.

If there’s anything else I can do to help, please let me know.

Hey @Shell29878,

 

Sorry for the issues you’re having,

 

I can see @Blastoise186 has already given some helpful advice here:

 

Hey @Shell29878 ,

I’m really sorry to hear this. You said you’re with Boost, so have you tried the Live Chat via their homepage at https://boostpower.co.uk by any chance?

I also noted the health conditions you reported. As a forum volunteer, I do have a deep understanding of these things and I suspect that Pay As You Go probably isn’t suitable for you. Have you ever considered switching to Pay Monthly with OVO by any chance? You definitely would be in much better shape that way and wouldn’t ever have to worry about being cold because your credit is running out.

If you’d like to switch over, the Boost Support Team can make the arrangements to get your account migrated to OVO.

I have also informed the forum moderators of this thread, as they might be able to offer some additional advice.

You also qualify for OVO’s Customer Support Package even though you’re on Boost. If you’d like to request that, feel free to check out https://winter-support-package.ovoenergy.com/ as that may also provide something that you can use.

If there’s anything else I can do to help, please let me know.

 

 just wanted to add that I'd advise getting added to the Priority Services Register if you aren’t already. 

 

Hope this helps. 

I have just applied for the winter package thank you so much wish I'd knew about this before Christmas myself and my 9 year old autistic son really have felt the cold this winter and those electric blankets would of been brilliant for us both , really do appreciate you taking time out to help , I don't know how I would go about changing back to ovo from pre payment meters which would be ideal for my piece of mind , I've had to borrow off boost the last few month which is so embarrassing because I always make sure I have plenty money on both but it's so hard to keep up with the rising costs , do I phone boost up ? I've tried the live chat but I'm put in a waiting list that never seem to get back to me 

Boost already has me on priority list thank you 😊 🙏 

I can definitely get a phone number for you if that helps? It’s 0330 102 7517 but I recommend against calling in on a Monday unless it’s urgent, to avoid the crazy rush from the weekend.

If you call that number and speak to an agent, they can help you transfer to OVO. If you have any debt or Discretionary Credit/Additional Support Credit to pay back, you will need to pay that off before your account can be transferred. You will however, be offered the option of paying it all off on the spot, which would immediately unblock the transfer and any debt would be wiped from the meters.

If you get stuck, please post in this thread. Both myself, other forum volunteers and the forum moderators are monitoring this thread, so if you post here again we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Thank you , I'll phone these tomorrow,  I've also checked my smart meter and they've put our warm home discount on so this will help greatly,  thank you 

No worries. :)

You won’t lose that WHD discount either. If memory serves, the transfer to OVO will either result in the remaining PAYG credit being applied as an account credit to your OVO account, or sent to you as a refund in the post. Either way, I can definitely confirm that you will get it all back.

Really appreciate you taking time out your day to help me :)

Hi there I received an email from Ovo Energy 4 days ago saying my warm home discount would be paid by 28th December 2022! And applied to my account! I've checked my online account with Ovo Energy and it's not been applied! When will it br applied? As the email says December last year ,I'm counting on this like many others, could you please help and when will it be applied? Does anyone know? Thank's in advance.

Hey @Ggg ,

Sorry about that! Please give OVO’s Support Team a call on 0330 303 5063 or Live Chat via https://help.ovoenergy.com to fix this. I’d recommend waiting until at least tomorrow though, as lines are ALWAYS jammed like mad on Mondays.

Okay thanks I'll call Ovo Energy tomorrow on the number you've provided, thank's again for the info and your help.

Okay thanks I'll call Ovo Energy tomorrow on the number you've provided, thank's again for the info and your help.

Hi @Ggg 

 

Did you speak to OVO about this? What did they say?

Hi ,the customer service person I spoke to asked a supervisor and said it would be applied ASAP, but....it's not been applied yet! I phoned this morning but had no joy the customer service was shocking! The foreign lady I spoke to was very unhelpful because when I asked about WHD she replied I don't know! What help is this ,I'm very unhappy about there attitude I also mentioned I was severely disabled and had mental health problems BUT the customer service lady wasn't bothered! So I'm no further ahead .very very unhappy with the lack of service and understanding from Ovo Energy.

Hi ,the customer service person I spoke to asked a supervisor and said it would be applied ASAP, but....it's not been applied yet! I phoned this morning but had no joy the customer service was shocking! The foreign lady I spoke to was very unhelpful because when I asked about WHD she replied I don't know! What help is this ,I'm very unhappy about there attitude I also mentioned I was severely disabled and had mental health problems BUT the customer service lady wasn't bothered! So I'm no further ahead .very very unhappy with the lack of service and understanding from Ovo Energy.

That’s my experience of OVO’s customer service as well. They also don’t know about WHD, don’t offer any help and usually give out the wrong advice for WHD.

I would suggest you email in a complaint to hello@ovoenergy.com and ask for them to look into it.

I’m having similar problems myself with OVO’s handling of WHD as are many other people on this forum.

 

 

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