Thousands of UK households are set to receive a £150 payment to help cover energy costs during the winter period.
Utilita has begun issuing Warm Home Discount payments to eligible smart prepay customers.
The energy supplier confirmed payments started on January 7 and said it expects all qualifying customers to receive the money by the end of January.
The £150 payment is applied directly to customers’ electricity meters rather than being paid into bank accounts.
This means households do not need to wait for a cheque or bank transfer and is applied automatically.
Eligibility is assessed by the Government using Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) records, with households meeting the criteria seeing the credit added directly to their meter balance.
The Warm Home Discount scheme has been expanded this year to include significantly more households, with an additional 2.7 million homes now eligible compared with previous years.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero removed the high energy usage requirement for claimants in England and Wales.
Under the previous rules, households receiving certain benefits had to demonstrate higher-than-average energy costs to qualify.
Eligible UK households are set to receive energy bill support this month
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As a result of the changes, the total number of households expected to receive the Warm Home Discount is estimated at around 6.1 million.
The expansion means more people on means-tested benefits will receive help with winter energy bills automatically.
To qualify for the 2025–26 scheme year, households needed to be receiving eligible benefits on August 24, 2025.
Qualifying benefits include Universal Credit, Housing Benefit and Income Support.
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and income-related Employment and Support Allowance are also included.
Households receiving Pension Credit are eligible under the scheme.
This applies to those receiving either the guarantee credit element or the savings credit element.
The payment is credited to customers’ electricity accounts by default
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Customers do not need to contact their supplier or complete additional paperwork.
In previous years, some suppliers applied the discount in instalments across the winter period.
However, Utilita confirmed it is paying the full £150 as a single lump sum this year.
Customers who use gas can transfer the credit using the Transfer Credit option within the My Utilita app.
If a customer has outstanding debt on their energy account, the discount is applied to clear that balance first.
The discount for Utilita customers will kick in at the end of January
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Utilita has advised customers with smart meters to contact the supplier if the credit has not appeared by January 28.
The supplier has also warned that mismatches between customer details and DWP records can delay payments.
Even minor spelling differences in names can prevent the automatic credit from being applied.
Customers are encouraged to ensure their account details match official records to avoid issues.