SHELL Energy will give thousands of customers an extra £150 to help them pay for bills this winter – we explain who is eligible.
The energy giant will be boosting the £150 warm home discount payment for all 157,000 customers who get the help.
It means thousands of billpayers will get £300 in total.
You'll get the top-up if you received certain benefits and joined Shell Energy on or before August 21 this year.
The warm home discount is available to those on the lowest incomes to help with rising costs.
Energy suppliers will dish out the help, worth £150, this year – and unlike previous years, you no longer have to apply for the support as you'll automatically qualify if you receive certain benefits.
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Shell Energy will boost warm home discount payments to £300 through its new £50million support fund.
It will see its hardship fund double from £10million to £20million through to the end of 2024 as well.
This fund is available to those in energy arrears, and those struggling to pay their bills.
Donations will also be made to charities across the country that are supporting households through the cost of living crisis.
Shell Energy Retail chief executive Tony Keeling said: "Our £50m package is intended to help those who need extra support.
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"Targeting customers who receive the Warm Home Discount will give an extra £150 to 157,000 families this winter, and increasing our hardship fund to £20million over the next three years will mean even more customers can access financial support when they need it most."
We've asked other suppliers if they too will be boosting the warm home discount scheme and will update this story when we know more.
How do I qualify for the warm home discount?
You'll need to be a recipient of one or more of the following benefits to qualify for the automatic £150 discount:
- Income support
- Income-based jobseeker's allowance
- Income-related employment and support allowance
- Housing benefit
- Universal credit
- Child tax credit
- Working tax credits
- Pension credit guaranteed
- Pension credit savings credit
If you weren't claiming any of the above benefits on August 21, you won't be eligible for the payment.
The Department for Work and Pensions, which is overseeing the scheme, will send you a letter in October to confirm if you'll get the payment later on in the year.
Payments for the £150 Warm Home Discount scheme will likely begin in December.
It's up to individual energy companies to decide when they will give their customers the discount.
If you're unsure about who supplies your energy, you can find out through Find My Supplier.
What other help can I get for energy bills?
Millions of households are missing out on other benefits they're entitled to adding up to billions of pounds in total.
Benefit calculators can help you check what you could be entitled to.
There are several benefit checker tools you can use – here's our guide.
Thousands of households can apply for free home improvements – and the measures could save you up to £520 on your bills.
Councils run schemes where you can apply for energy efficiency grants worth up to £10,000 to make your home greener.
All households in England, Scotland and Wales will get a £400 energy bill discount.
It will be paid in six monthly instalments from October until March 2023.
Households will see a discount of £66 applied to their bills in October and November, and £67 in December, January, February and March.
Get in touch with your local council about the Household Support Fund – which gives low-income households free cash, vouchers or help with bills.
Your energy firm might run a hardship fund to help you cope with the impact of price rises.
For example, British Gas has a scheme offering customers up to £750 to put towards energy debts.
Octopus Energy gives out grants of up to £500 to struggling customers.
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Ask your supplier what's on offer and how to apply, or check here:
- British Gas Energy Trust
- Bulb energy fund
- EDF's energy customer support fund
- E.on's energy fund
- Npower's energy fund
- Ovo's debt and energy assistance
- Scottish Power's hardship fund
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