Support to help pay for energy costs if you live in Scotland
If you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, or
Are on a low income
You could check if you are eligible for:
Warm Home Discount
This pays £150 towards your electricity bill. It is managed by energy suppliers who have chosen to take part.
To find out if you can get this, you will need to know who your electricity supplier is. If you aren’t sure, we tell you how to find out who supplies your energy here.
If you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, you can find out if you can get this and how to claim, here.
If you’re on low income, visit this page to find out if you can get Warm Home Discount and how to claim.
If you get low-income benefits and have extra heating needs.
You could check if you are eligible for:
Winter Heating Payment (this has replaced the Cold Weather Payment)
This is a payment towards your heating costs. It is paid during the winter automatically into the same account you get other benefits paid into.
You can find out more about Winter Heating Payment, including if you are eligible here.
Winter Fuel Payment
This pays £100 – £300 to help with your heating bills over winter.
Important: From September 2024, if you have reached State Pension age and do not receive Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits you will no longer receive the Winter Fuel Payment from the Government. You or someone you know, could be eligible for Pension Credit. It is estimated that there are almost 1 million people who are eligible but don’t currently claim it, so we don’t want you to miss out.
Find out if you’re eligible by calling 0800 731 0469 or visiting Pension Credit: Eligibility – GOV.UK.
You’ll need to claim by 16th September to receive the Winter Fuel Payment this winter.
If you have received a Winter Fuel Payment before and receive one of the following benefits during the qualifying week, 16th – 22nd September 2024, you do not need to apply:
• Pension Credit
• Income related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)
• Income Support
If you receive Universal Credit or one of the benefits above but have never received Winter Fuel Payment before, you need to apply.
Find out how to claim by post or phone.
You can find out more about the Winter Fuel Payment and if you can get it here.