The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) published a consultation on 25 September 2025 to continue the Warm Home Discount (WHD) for a new five-year scheme period running from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 20311. The department sets the scheme's policy and holds overall responsibility for it, while Ofgem sets suppliers' obligations, monitors compliance and reports on performance each year1.
The consultation followed the fourteenth scheme year, covering 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, in which suppliers delivered £595.2 million of WHD support: £543.5 million in England and Wales and £51.8 million in Scotland1. That was up almost 3 per cent on the £578.7 million spent in scheme year 131. Around 3.41 million £150 rebates went to customers in or at risk of fuel poverty, up from 3.35 million the previous year, comprising 3.14 million in England and Wales and 276,672 in Scotland1. Of those, 956,967 rebates worth £143.5 million went to eligible low-income pensioners, down slightly on 959,826 in scheme year 13, while 2.46 million other customers received rebates, up from 2.39 million1. Suppliers spent a further £83.1 million through Industry Initiatives, which fund energy advice, benefit entitlement checks, small energy efficiency measures and financial support1. Lifetime spend since the scheme began in 2011 reached £5.13 billion1.
The scheme's elements differ by nation. Core Group 1 in England and Wales, and the Core Group in Scotland, provide rebates to low-income pensioners in receipt of Pension Credit Guarantee Credit1. Core Group 2 in England and Wales covers low-income households with estimated high energy costs, and the Broader Group in Scotland covers a wider group of fuel poor customers or those at risk of fuel poverty1. Ofgem noted that in scheme year 15 the high energy cost threshold for Core Group 2 rebates was removed1.
"On 25 September 2025 DESNZ, published a consultation34 to continue the WHD"
Eighteen suppliers were participating at the end of scheme year 14, including two participating for the first time, Fuse Energy and Home Energy1. Ofgem reported non-compliances from a number of obligated suppliers, mainly late rebate payments or spending shortfalls, representing 6.7 per cent of rebates and 0.2 per cent of suppliers' other spending obligations1. Where rebates were issued late, suppliers agreed to pay £150 compensation to those affected in addition to the £150 rebate; where spending shortfalls occurred, suppliers agreed to make additional payments to support fuel poor consumers, with the shortfall added to the next year's obligation1. An interim Core Group reconciliation ran between February and March 2025 and the final reconciliation took place in November 2025; Ofgem stated that all participating suppliers required to make payments did so in full in both cases1.
Why it matters for households
The WHD is one of the few routes by which a household's electricity bill is reduced automatically, without an application, where the household is in the Core Group. For a home already receiving Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, the £150 rebate is applied by the supplier rather than claimed. Households in the Broader Group in Scotland, or those reached through Industry Initiatives, depend on supplier-run routes that are not restricted to customers of a particular supplier1. The consultation matters because it concerns whether that support continues past 31 March 2026 and on what terms, including eligibility. Ofgem's report states that the government has confirmed a five-year extension including an expansion to reach a further 2.7 million households1. The report does not set out the eligibility rules for the extended scheme, and the detail of the consultation itself has not been reported here.
What happens next
The consultation was published on 25 September 20251. Ofgem's report states that the government published its response to the consultation on 30 January 20261. The new scheme period, if continued, would run from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 20311.
Sources1 cited
- Warm Home Discount annual report: scheme year 14, ofgem.gov.uk