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The Sun
24-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Full list of 22 energy firms offering free £150 payout to millions of households
MILLIONS of households with 22 suppliers are in line for £150 discounts on their energy bills. The Warm Home Discount is a one-off deduction on your electricity and sometimes gas bill. 1 The discount is usually applied automatically between October and March when households use more energy. It is issued to people in England, Wales and Scotland on certain means-tested benefits including Universal Credit. Not all firms are signed up to the scheme though, with a list of the 22 that are on the Government website. This is the full list of energy firms signed up to the Warm Home Discount scheme: 100Green (formerly Green Energy UK or GEUK) British Gas /Scottish Gas E - also known as E (Gas and Electricity) Ecotricity Next EDF Fuse Energy Good Energy Home Energy London Power Octopus Energy Outfox the Market OVO Rebel Energy Sainsbury's Energy ScottishPower Shell Energy Retail So Energy Tomato Energy TruEnergy Utilita Utility Warehouse Who is eligible for the Warm Home Discount scheme? There are different ways to qualify for the Warm Home Discount scheme based on where you live. Households in England and Wales are eligible if they fit into two "core" groups. Core group one applies to households where someone receives the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit. Core group two applies to households on the following benefits: 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 How to cut energy costs and get help with FOUR key household bills You will need to have been claiming either the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit or the other qualifying benefits on August 24 this year to be eligible for the Warm Home Discount in 2025/26. Households in Scotland are also bunched into two groups based on their circumstances. Those on the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, known as "core group", get the £150 discount automatically applied. Other Scottish households in the "broader group" on certain means-tested benefits qualify for the discount but have to apply via their energy firm. Energy firms should tell you what benefits qualify you for the discount and may set extra criteria for you to meet as well. For the 2024/25 year, households in England, Wales or Scotland in core group two or the broader group had to live in a property with a high energy cost score as well be on benefits to qualify for the Warm Home Discount. However, this criteria has been scrapped for this winter meaning 2.7million more households will get it. You can still qualify for the Warm Home Discount if you have a prepayment meter. Your supplier will tell you how you'll get a discount. This might be a voucher you can use to top up your meter. If you qualify for the Warm Home Discount, you should receive a letter telling you. These are usually sent between October and January. OTHER ENERGY BILL HELP If you don't qualify for the Warm Home Discount you might be able to get help with energy bills through the Household Support Fund. The current round of the fund is worth £742million and has been shared between councils in England. They then have to distribute their share and set their own eligibility criteria on who can get help. You might be able to get free money direct into your bank account or vouchers to cover the cost of energy. If you've fallen into energy debt, you might be able to get a grant to wipe it clear through your energy firm too. British Gas and Octopus Energy, the UK's two biggest energy suppliers, both have schemes, as well as others. Are you missing out on benefits? YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to Charity Turn2Us' benefits calculator works out what you could get. Entitledto's free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit. and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto's data. You can use Policy in Practice's calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you'll have left over each month after paying for housing costs. Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for. .
The Sun
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Energy meter warning for 300,000 customers facing HUGE bill hikes due to major switch off in DAYS
AN ENERGY meter warning has been issued for 300,000 customers who face huge hikes to their bills due to a major switch off. Homes with electricity meters using the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) need to upgrade to a smart meter before June 30 - when the service is being switched off. 1 The switch off will mean that anyone who still has one of these meters could face their heating or hot water not working properly. Some of these systems also automatically turn the heating and hot water system on and off at different times during the day. So those who don't switch in time risk permanently blasting their heating during peak time. This could lead to huge bill hikes for those who don't meet the deadline. Suppliers have been racing to ensure that homes are fitted with smart meters before the June deadline. Octopus Energy warned thousands of its own customers at the end of January. Next urged 65,000 customers to take action to avoid being cut off, and 60,000 EDF customers have also been contacted to warn them of the deadline. Energy regulator Ofgem was forced to step in last year as energy providers had been initially slow with the roll out. The latest figures show some 392,000 households still have an RTS meter across Britain, according to The Mirror. Currently, suppliers are switching 1,000 RTS meters a day, but in order to meet its target of 400,000 homes this figure would need to rise to 5,000. A spokesperson for Energy UK told the outlet it would be "challenging" to replace the meters by June 30." They added: "It means getting access to every single property to carry out the installation, many of which are in remote areas, and ultimately it requires all customers to respond to contact from their supplier.' But many households may not even realise they have an RTS meter and need to make the switch. HOW TO TELL IF YOU HAVE A RTS METER One way to tell if you have a RTS meter is if your home has a separate switch box near your meter with a Radio Teleswitch label. Another sign is if you get cheaper energy at different times of day, for example, you might be on an Economy 7, Economy 10, or Total Heat Total Control tariff. RTS meters are also typically used in areas with no gas supply, such as for high rise flats or houses in a particularly rural setting, so if this applies to you it's worth checking your meter. If you're still not sure, contact your energy supplier and ask whether you have RTS equipment. They will be able to confirm for you. You will not be charged for upgrading an RTS meter to a smart meter as all electricity suppliers are required to offer this upgrade at no extra cost to customers. When you switch you may be offered a smart meter. These devices offer the same features as RTS in that they can record the different prices at different times of day offered by Economy 7 tariffs. It can help you save money as they help you avoid estimated energy bills as the reading are sent to your supplier automatically. The device can also help you track your energy use as you can see how much you're using and when you're using it. How do I calculate my energy bill? BELOW we reveal how you can calculate your own energy bill. To calculate how much you pay for your energy bill, you must find out your unit rate for gas and electricity and the standing charge for each fuel type. The unit rate will usually be shown on your bill in p/ standing charge is a daily charge that is paid 365 days of the year - irrespective of whether or not you use any gas or electricity. You will then need to note down your own annual energy usage from a previous bill. Once you have these details, you can work out your gas and electricity costs separately. Multiply your usage in kWh by the unit rate cost in p/kWh for the corresponding fuel type - this will give you your usage costs. You'll then need to multiply each standing charge by 365 and add this figure to the totals for your usage - this will then give you your annual costs. Divide this figure by 12, and you'll be able to determine how much you should expect to pay each month from April 1.
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
E.ON launched a pop-up grocery shop to teach you about EV charging costs
More than half of UK drivers are cutting down on journeys because of the cost of petrol, according to research by energy firm Next. 52 per cent of drivers say they're driving less than they used to due to fuel prices, while half of those surveyed say they've missed out on a special event or family outing because they couldn't afford to fill up their car. In one of the stranger publicity stunts we've seen this week, Next is attempting to address price anxiety relating to electric cars with a pop-up shop stocking items worth exactly £2.70 – the price the energy firm says drivers could be paying to fully charge an EV at home using its Next Drive tariff. Shoppers at the London shop could choose from a range of goods, including four fifths of a coffee, one and a half loaves of bread and three quarters of a box of cereal. Driver concerns about fuel prices, alongside ambitious government sales targets, is helping to drive the transition to electric vehicles in the UK. Trade association SMMT reports the market share of fully electric vehicles rose from 16.5 per cent to 19.6 per cent in 2024, making the UK one of the leaders in EV adoption around the world. But despite record numbers of EVs on UK roads, two thirds of drivers are in the dark when it comes to EV charging costs, saying they've no idea how much it costs to charge an EV at home. £2.70 price stunt was based on the cost of charging a 40kW battery overnight, while larger EVs like the Tesla Model 3 would set you back £4.69 on the firm's tariff – enough for a full coffee at least. Fuel prices have been slowly falling in the UK as wholesale costs come down, but they remain higher than they were prior to a spike in demand for oil in 2022. A report by RAC Fuel Watch suggests retailers should be doing more to pass price reductions on to customers. The average UK driver spent £48 on petrol last time they were at the pump, while 77 per cent of drivers surveyed said they're worried about rising fuel costs. Energy providers have started adapting to new charging habits with cheap overnight electricity pricing, with the likes of EDF GoElectric, Ovo Charge Anytime and British Gas Electric Driver all offering special tariffs aimed at electric car owners. Last month, Ford launched its Ford Power Promise alongside the new Ford Puma Gen-E, which offers new customers 10,000 miles of free charging credit with Octopus Energy's Intelligent Octopus Go tariff.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Households to claim £7m over energy meter errors
Energy firms have been ordered to pay £7m in compensation after households were incorrectly charged due to meter errors. Ofgem has ordered 10 suppliers including Octopus and Utility Warehouse to refund 34,000 customers who were erroneously billed more than what is allowed under the price cap. The affected customers, who were overcharged between January 2019 and September 2024, have so-called 'restricted meter infrastructure', which means they have more than one electricity meter recording their energy usage. An estimated four million homes have restricted meters, where electricity consumption is recorded separately. These households are charged electricity at different rates, allowing them to take advantage of off-peak rates. Suppliers can apply multiple standing charges for homes with restricted meters, however, Ofgem said this had led to some customers being overcharged. Companies are not allowed to break the regulator's price cap, which sets a limit on the maximum amount suppliers can charge per unit of gas and electricity. Following a compliance review by Ofgem, the suppliers agreed to pay £5.6m in refunds and £1.4m in goodwill payments. The UK's largest supplier Octopus had the most customers impacted, at 20,862 out of 34,048. The firm paid out £2.6m in refunds and £546,000 in goodwill payments. The errors also affected customers at Next, Ecotricity, EDF Energy, Outfox the Market, OVO Energy, Rebel Energy, So Energy, Tru Energy and Utility Warehouse. Ofgem said customers would be refunded automatically if they had not been already. Charlotte Friel, director of retail pricing and systems at Ofgem, said: 'Our duty is to protect energy consumers, and we set the price cap for that very reason so customers don't pay a higher amount for their energy than they should. 'We expect all suppliers to have robust processes in place so they can bill their customers accurately. While it's clear that on this occasion errors were made, thankfully, the issues were promptly resolved, and customers are being refunded. 'Today's outcome serves as a reminder to all energy suppliers that they must implement the price cap properly and do their due diligence. It also shows that, where appropriate, Ofgem is prepared to work with suppliers that fail to comply with our rules.' Last year, Next was ordered to repay £14.5m to 250,000 customers after an error meant it failed to provide final bills and refund customer credit balances to prepayment meter customers. In addition, the regulator recently announced plans to crack down on suppliers that botch smart meter installations after millions of households were left with 'dumb' meters, requiring the customer to send manual readings. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
09-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Households to claim £7m over energy meter errors
Energy firms have been ordered to pay £7m in compensation after households were incorrectly charged due to meter errors. Ofgem has ordered 10 suppliers including Octopus and Utility Warehouse to refund 34,000 customers who were erroneously billed more than what is allowed under the price cap. The affected customers, who were overcharged between January 2019 and September 2024, have so-called 'restricted meter infrastructure', which means they have more than one electricity meter recording their energy usage. An estimated four million homes have restricted meters, where electricity consumption is recorded separately. These households are charged electricity at different rates, allowing them to take advantage of off-peak rates. Suppliers can apply multiple standing charges for homes with restricted meters, however, Ofgem said this had led to some customers being overcharged. Companies are not allowed to break the regulator's price cap, which sets a limit on the maximum amount suppliers can charge per unit of gas and electricity. Following a compliance review by Ofgem, the suppliers agreed to pay £5.6m in refunds and £1.4m in goodwill payments. The UK's largest supplier Octopus had the most customers impacted, at 20,862 out of 34,048. The firm paid out £2.6m in refunds and £546,000 in goodwill payments. The errors also affected customers at Next, Ecotricity, EDF Energy, Outfox the Market, OVO Energy, Rebel Energy, So Energy, Tru Energy and Utility Warehouse. Ofgem said customers would be refunded automatically if they had not been already. Charlotte Friel, director of retail pricing and systems at Ofgem, said: 'Our duty is to protect energy consumers, and we set the price cap for that very reason so customers don't pay a higher amount for their energy than they should. 'We expect all suppliers to have robust processes in place so they can bill their customers accurately. While it's clear that on this occasion errors were made, thankfully, the issues were promptly resolved, and customers are being refunded. 'Today's outcome serves as a reminder to all energy suppliers that they must implement the price cap properly and do their due diligence. It also shows that, where appropriate, Ofgem is prepared to work with suppliers that fail to comply with our rules.' Last year, Next was ordered to repay £14.5m to 250,000 customers after an error meant it failed to provide final bills and refund customer credit balances to prepayment meter customers. In addition, the regulator recently announced plans to crack down on suppliers that botch smart meter installations after millions of households were left with 'dumb' meters, requiring the customer to send manual readings.
