We’re serious helping our customers to reduce their energy bills, particularly those who are in fuel poverty. One of the ways we can do this is through the Warm Home Discount Scheme, where we’re able to offer eligible customers a discount on their winter electricity bills.
If you receive income based benefits and someone in your household is vulnerable, you might be eligible. If you would like to apply for this year’s discount please fill in our online application form here.
We've included some answers to questions we thought you might have about the scheme below.
You can also find out more information about the Warm Home Discount scheme on the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) website.
For 2013/14 we will use information given to us by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to automatically give the discount to customers who were supplied by us on 20 July 2013 and were:
aged under 75 and receiving only the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit (no Savings Credit)
aged 75 or over and receiving the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, (even if you receive Savings Credit as well)
This is referred to as the Core Group rebate as part of the Warm Home Discount scheme.
The DWP will write to you from September 2013 to let you know if you qualify. We’ll also write to you when the discount has been made too.
We’re also able to give the discount to some customers who receive certain other benefits. This is referred to as the Broader Group rebate as part of the Warm Home Discount.
This Broader Group rebate mainly focuses on low income customers who are aged over 65, have a disability, medical condition, or have children.
To be eligible for a Broader Group rebate:
- You must receive one of the benefit combinations listed below( we may need to ask you to provide evidence of this)
- You/your partner must be an E.ON electricity account holder (we may need to ask you to provide evidence of this partnership).
- Your electricity must be supplied by E.ON when you apply for the Warm Home Discount and also when we award the discount. If you switch electricity supplier before your discount is applied, unfortunately you will lose your entitlement to it.
To make it easier to check if you’re eligible, we've split the benefits into different sections depending on your circumstances.
Benefit combinations
Pensioners
Guaranteed AND Savings Element of the Pension Credit AND under the age of 75 on 20/07/2013 (unfortunately if you only receive the savings element of pension credit you’re not eligible).
Housing or Council Tax Benefits, over the age of 65 AND not in receipt of Pension Credit
Families
Child Tax Credit with a relevant income of £16,190 or less (if you claim Child Tax Credit with a partner their income is also taken into consideration)
Disabilities
Income Based Job Seekers Allowance AND Disability Living Allowance (DLA) OR Personal Independence Payment (PIP) (all components)
Income Related Employment and Support Allowance AND Disability Living Allowance (DLA) OR Personal Independence Payment (PIP) (all components)
Income Support AND Disability Living Allowance (DLA) OR Personal Independence Payment (PIP) (all components)
Working Tax Credit with a relevant income of £16,190 or less AND Disability Living Allowance (DLA) OR Personal Independence Payment (PIP) (all components)
Pregnant or Medical Condition
Income Based Job Seekers Allowance AND Maternity Exception Certificate (MATEX) OR medical exemption certificate (MEDEX)
Income Related Employment and Support Allowance AND MATEX OR MEDEX Medical Exemption Certificate
Income Support AND MATEX OR MEDEX exemption certificate
Working Tax Credit with a relevant income of £16,190 or less AND MATEX OR MEDEX exemption certificate
If you receive any of the benefit combinations above, you may be eligible to receive the discount. If you would like to apply for this year’s discount please fill in our Warm Home Discount online application form.
We will write to all customers that have applied for a rebate within 16 weeks of receiving their application to let them know if they have been successful or not.
This time allows us to process the application, ask for copies of benefit letters if needed.
The intention of the discount is to help customers with their winter electricity bill and so eligible customers will receive their rebate by 31 March 2014. We will not pay the discount during the summertime.
Most customers will receive their discount as a credit on their electricity account. We’ll write to you to let you know when this has been done. You’ll also see it on your bill or statement.
Prepayment customers
If you have a prepayment meter for your electricity we’ll send you a voucher. You need to take this voucher and a form of identification to your local Post Office. Accepted forms of ID are:
Valid UK Passport
Valid UK Driving Licence
Valid EU Driving Licence
Pension Card
Utility or Household bill
The Post Office will use the voucher to credit your prepayment key. You can then transfer the credit to your meter in the same way you would when you top up.
The DWP will begin to write to eligible customers in September 2013. At the top right hand side of the letter they send you there will be a reference number either beginning with the letter M or the letter U
If your reference number begins with an M:
This means you don’t need to do anything. If we supplied your electricity on 20 July 2013 we will pay your discount by 31 December 2013.
If another energy company provided your electricity on 20 July 2013 the DWP will send your details to them to pay your discount.
If your Reference number begins with a U:
This means that the DWP aren't sure who your electricity supplier is. You will need to give the DWP a call (using the telephone number on the letter) and give them your electricity account number and Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN). You'll find the information you need on your electricity bill, so have this handy when you call. But don’t delay, if you don’t call them by the date specified on your letter, you won't get your discount.
If you’re expecting an automatic discount:
The company that supplied your electricity on 20 July 2012 is responsible for giving you the discount, even if you’re now with another supplier. If we were your supplier and you've now left us you’ll get this as a cheque. If you still have a balance left to pay, we’ll put the discount onto your account to help you pay this off.
If you applied to us for a discount:
If you change electricity supplier before we have given you the discount, you’ll need to contact your new supplier and see if you can apply to them instead. Unfortunately applications can’t be transferred between suppliers, so you’ll need to make a new application with your new supplier. We won’t be able to give you the discount unless your electricity is supplied by us.
If you’re expecting an automatic discount:
As long as we were your supplier on 20 July 2013, you’ll still get the discount from us. If you still have a balance left to pay, we’ll put the discount onto your account to help you pay it off. If you have nothing left to pay, we’ll send a cheque to your new address. Please make sure to give us your new address, so we know where to send your cheque.
If you applied to us for a discount:
If E.ON supply the electricity at your new address and our scheme is still open, we may be able to credit the discount to your new account. Please let us know you’re new address and we’ll see what we can do for you.
