EDF Warm Home Discount: Application & Eligibility

The EDF Warm Home Discount is a £140 heating allowance paid as a rebate available to EDF customers who need help with their winter electricity bills. Read on to see if you’re eligible and find out more about how to apply for warm home discount.

What is the Warm Home Discount scheme?

The Warm Home Discount is a government scheme that has been running since 2011. Previously, it was a £120 heating allowance known as the winter warm discount, for 2021/22 it is £140. The Warm Home Discount provides financial help to those who may need it during the winter months when energy bills are typically higher.

The scheme aims to provide households at risk of fuel poverty with extra support. Cold homes can cause or exacerbate many illnesses in the very old, the very young or others in vulnerable states of health.

The discount is usually paid either as a voucher for top-up or a discount towards your direct debit payments.

It doesn’t depend on how you pay for your energy either. As an EDF Energy customer, you are entitled to claim it, no matter what type of tariff you are on. Even prepayment customers can apply if the requirements are met.

When does EDF Warm Home Discount open

The EDF Energy Warm Home Discount 2021/2022 is now closed for applications.

Now that the EDF warm home discount 2021/22 is closed for applications, you will need to wait until the 2022/23 applications open. Usually this is around the end of summer.

Even though the scheme is closed for this year, you might be eligible for other energy schemes.

When is the Warm Home Discount paid?

EDF states on their website that successful applications for the EDF warm home discount can expect to receive their rebate by the end of February 2022.

However, in some cases it may take a little longer and if you haven't received your warm home discount payment by mid-April, you should contact EDF to check when you it will be paid to you.

Do I qualify for the EDF Warm Home Discount?

EDF has a limit to the number of rebates it can pay out under the Warm Home Discount scheme each year, so you should get your application in as soon as possible if you are eligible. There are two routes customers may qualify - through the Core Group or Support Plus.

Below is the criteria for the EDF Warm Home Discount scheme 2021/22, generally it doesn't change much from year to year but do check back for up to date eligibility information as it becomes available.

Core Group

If your situation on the qualifying date of 4 July 2021 matched the following, you should receive the discount for 2021/2022:

• The account was in your or your partner’s name.
• You received the ‘guarantee credit’ element of Pension Credit (still the case even if you get savings credit)

If this did not describe your circumstances on 4 July 2021, then you might still be entitled to the Warm Home Discount under Support Plus.

Support Plus

If you’re not a pensioner and didn't automatically qualify for the core group Warm Home Discount, you could have still qualifed through EDF Support Plus.

Unlike with the Core Group, you would have needed to fill in an application. You could still have gotten the EDF Energy Warm Home Discount if you met the eligibility criteria we explain below.

Be aware that you will have to do this every year because the Warm Home Discount application does not carry over.

Generally, you may be eligible if you or another named EDF Energy account holder living at the property:

• Has a low income or
• Receives certain means-tested benefits

Primary Support Plus criteria

For the 2021/2022 season, there were six primary categories to meet the requirements for the EDF Warm Home Discount under Support Plus. If you were in one of the primary criteria categories between one and five below, you must have also fulfilled at least one of the secondary criteria listed further down the page.

To claim the Warm Home Discount through Support Plus for 2021/2022, you or another named EDF Energy account holder living at your property must be in receipt one of the following benefits:

1. Income Support
2. Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
3. Income-based Jobseeker’s allowance
4. Universal Credit and have earned less than £1,349 in at least one month since 1 October 2020
5. Gross taxable annual household income of less than £16,190*
6. Pension Credit - Savings Credit only (for example. you do not receive the guaranteed credit element of pension credit). Remember, if you get Pension Credit which includes the Guaranteed Credit element you’ll get the Warm Home Discount rebate automatically, so you do not need to apply.

*Gross household income (before tax and deductions) for all household members includes:

• Working tax credit
• War disablement pension
• Disablement pension allowance

However, it excludes:

• Child tax credit
• Child benefit
• Council tax benefit
• Attendance allowance
• Disability living allowance or personal independence payment

Secondary Support Plus Criteria

For primary criteria categories one to five — that is you claim Income Support, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance — you must have also have been able to answer yes to at least one of the following questions:

• Do you have parental responsibility for a child younger than 5 who usually lives with you?
• Do you get a disabled child premium or child tax credit which includes a disability or severe disability element?
• Do you get a disability premium, enhanced disability premium, severe disability premium?
• Do you get a disability living allowance, personal independence payment or attendance allowance for you or another adult living with you?
• Do you get a pensioner premium, higher pensioner premium or enhanced pensioner premium?

If you received income-related employment and support allowance, you must also have gotten a work-related activity or support group component.

For primary category four - that means you got universal credit and earned less than £1,349 in at least one month since 1 October 2020 - you must have also been able to answer yes to at least one of these questions:

• Do you get a limited capability for work element, with or without a work-related activity element?
• Do you get the disabled child element?
• Do you get a disability living allowance or personal independence payment or attendance allowance for you or another adult living with you?
• Do you get a child element benefit for a dependent child who usually lives with you?

If you wanted to claim under primary criteria category five for having a gross taxable annual household income of less than £16,190 you must have also been able to answer yes to one of the following questions:

• Do you get child benefit for a dependent child who normally lives with you?
• Do you get a disabled worker element or severe disability element, disability living allowance or personal independence payment or attendance allowance for you or another adult living with you?
• Do you get carers allowance?
• Are you aged 62 or over?
• Are you in employment?
• Have you ever served in the armed forces?

How can I check which benefits I’m getting?

If you’re not sure and want to get accurate information on which benefits you receive, get in touch with the Pension Service or Job Centre Plus.

Struggling to pay your winter bills?You're not alone. As well as the Warm Home Discount, there are a number of other energy grants and schemes that can provide the financial support you need. Learn more by visiting Energy Schemes.

Will I still receive my Warm Home Discount if I switch supplier?

If you were with EDF on 4 July 2021 and are part of the Core Group, then it will continue to provide your Warm Home Discount for winter 2021/2022 even if you switched supplier.

If you were with a different supplier on 4 July 2021, then your old supplier should have given you the rebate as long as it was participating in the Warm Home Discount scheme.

However, if you applied for the Warm Home Discount through Support Plus and then switched energy suppliers before you received the payment, you’ll have needed to go through the application process again with your new supplier if it was also part of the scheme.

How do I apply for the EDF Warm Home Discount?

The EDF Energy Warm Home Discount 2021/2022 is now closed for applications.

To apply for the Warm Home Discount, you should have contacted EDF Energy with your account details and information on the qualifying benefits you receive, together with any other household income.

How to receive past Warm Home Discount

If you an EDF Energy customer entitled to the Warm Home Discount through your pension, you should not have to do anything in order to receive the payment as it is normally processed and distributed automatically.

That said, like all things in life, sometimes things don’t work as perfectly as they should. If you believe you were entitled to receive the Warm Home Discount but still haven’t heard anything from EDF by early April 2022, follow our guidance below to track down your payment.

You should have received a Warm Home Discount letter from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) by December 2021. The letter includes a reference number beginning with an M or U.

If your reference number starts with an ‘M’:

If this is the case, then you don’t have to do anything. If EDF Energy was your supplier on 4 July 2021, you should have automatically received your discount by 28 February 2022.

If you were with another participating supplier on 5 July 2021, the discount should have instead been provided by that supplier. It should have passed on this amount to EDF Energy so that you could still benefit from the payment you are entitled to.

If your reference number starts with a ‘U’:

This situation is less straightforward. It usually means that the DWP aren’t sure they have the correct details about which energy supplier you are with, so they haven’t been able to coordinate the payment.

In this case, your best bet is to get in touch with the DWP to straighten out which supplier you were with on the qualifying date and who you are with now if you have switched.

Before you pick up the phone, it’s a good idea to have your meter information to hand, such as your Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN).

The quicker you call and iron out any bureaucratic wrinkles, the less likely it is that you will miss out on getting your discount. If you still have any issues, you can give the Warm Home Discount helpline a call on 0800 731 0214.

You can also write to them at the following address:
Warm Home Discount Team
Blue Zone, Ground Floor Phase 1
Peel Park
Brunel Way
Blackpool FY4 5ES

What happens if I have switched from EDF Energy to another supplier?

Provided EDF Energy was your supplier on 4 July 2021, you should have still received the Warm Home Discount. The only difference is that you should have seen the discounted amount on your new supplier’s energy bills instead of it coming directly from EDF Energy.

What if I am a new EDF Energy customer?

This will also be the case if you have switched to EDF Energy from another supplier which also provides the Warm Home Discount. As long as it was still your supplier on 4 July 2021, EDF Energy should have received this discount and applied it to your account.

What other schemes can I apply for?

Depending on your circumstances, there are several energy schemes which EDF customers can take advantage of to save money on their energy bills. The table below explains the different schemes that are available in 2022.