The short answer. The biggest automatic help this winter is the Winter Fuel Payment (£100 to £300, or the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment in Scotland) and the £150 Warm Home Discount, which now goes to every bill payer on a means-tested benefit in England and Wales. At the October 2026 price cap, £150 buys about 570 kWh of electricity, close to three months of a medium household's electricity use.
If you are struggling now, your council's crisis fund and your supplier's hardship fund are the fastest routes. Every status below was checked on 29 October 2026.
Most lists of winter energy help tell you a payment is worth £150 or £300. That number means little unless you know what it buys. We have converted each cash payment into kilowatt hours at the Ofgem price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026: 26.32p per kWh for electricity and 7.97p for gas, direct debit, Great Britain average. Standing charges are left out of the conversion, so the kWh figures are the most each payment could buy.
This page carries no affiliate links and no quote form. It is not eligibility advice: check the official page linked for each scheme.
Prices and specs last checked by Look Into on 29 October 2026 · next check 26 November 2026 · how we picked
What each payment buys at the price cap
| Payment | Amount | Gas it buys | Electricity it buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warm Home Discount | £150 | Paid as electricity credit | 570 kWh |
| Winter Fuel Payment, living alone, born before 28 September 1946 | £300 | 3,764 kWh | 1,140 kWh |
| Winter Fuel Payment, living alone, born 28 September 1946 to 27 June 1960 | £200 | 2,509 kWh | 760 kWh |
| Winter Fuel Payment, sharing or in a care home | £100 or £150 | 1,255 or 1,882 kWh | 380 or 570 kWh |
| Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (Scotland) | £105.55 to £316.70 | 1,324 to 3,974 kWh | 401 to 1,203 kWh |
| Winter Heating Payment (Scotland) | £62 | 778 kWh | 236 kWh |
| Cold Weather Payment, per cold spell | £25 | 314 kWh | 95 kWh |
For scale, Ofgem counts a medium household as using 2,500 kWh of electricity and 9,500 kWh of gas a year. Standing charges alone come to 84.51p a day at the October cap before any energy is used, which is why our Winter Fuel Payment page deducts them first.
How we chose and ordered them
We included every scheme that puts money towards household energy bills this winter or helps people pay them, and that a household in Great Britain or Northern Ireland can actually receive between November 2026 and March 2027. We ordered them by how many households they reach, with schemes that pay automatically first, then the ones you have to ask for. Upgrade grants that cut future bills are at the end. Look Into is not an entry: we run no scheme. What we add is the conversion above.
The 10 schemes
1. Warm Home Discount
£150 off your electricity bill. England, Wales and Scotland. In England and Wales you qualify if, on 23 August 2026, you got Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit, your supplier is in the scheme and your name is on the bill. Most people get it automatically. Letters go out from late October 2026 to early January 2027, and if yours asks you to call, the deadline is 26 February 2027. In Scotland a core group gets it automatically and others apply to their supplier. The government says about 6 million households will get it this winter.
2. Winter Fuel Payment
£100 to £300. England, Wales and Northern Ireland. For people born on or before 27 June 1960. It is paid automatically in November and December 2026. If your own income is over £35,000, HMRC takes it back through your tax code or Self Assessment. It is too late to opt out for this winter.
3. Pension Age Winter Heating Payment
£105.55 to £316.70. Scotland. Scotland's replacement for the Winter Fuel Payment, for people of State Pension age. Mostly automatic, with letters from November 2026. Income over £35,000 is recovered by HMRC.
mygov.scot: Pension Age Winter Heating Payment
4. Cold Weather Payment and Winter Heating Payment
£25 per cold spell, or £62 a year in Scotland. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, people on certain benefits including Pension Credit get £25 for each 7-day spell when the temperature is recorded or forecast at or below 0°C, between 1 November 2026 and 31 March 2027. In Scotland the Winter Heating Payment is a flat £62 paid from December whatever the weather, the figure on mygov.scot when we checked.
GOV.UK: Cold Weather Payment · mygov.scot: Winter Heating Payment
5. 0% VAT on household electricity
Automatic, Great Britain, electricity only. From 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 there is no VAT on household electricity. The October cap rate of 26.32p already includes it, and the government puts the saving at about £45 a year for a typical home. Gas keeps its 5% VAT, and electricity VAT returns on 1 April 2027 unless the government extends the cut. Our VAT cut page has the detail.
6. Crisis and Resilience Fund
Help from your council. England. It replaced the Household Support Fund on 1 April 2026 and runs to 31 March 2029. Each council decides who gets help and how much, and help can cover energy costs. Search your council's website for "crisis fund" or call them.
7. Supplier hardship funds
Grants towards energy debt. Great Britain. The British Gas Energy Trust helps households with up to £1,700 of energy debt, whichever supplier they are with. Other suppliers run their own funds. Most want you to speak to a free debt adviser first, and some need a budget sheet completed with one.
8. Priority Services Register
Free extra help, not cash. Great Britain. If you are over State Pension age, disabled, have a long-term condition or are vulnerable for another reason, your supplier and network operator must offer extra support, such as priority help in a power cut and help with a prepayment meter. Ask your supplier to add you.
9. ECO4, until 31 December 2026
Free insulation and heating upgrades. Great Britain. For low-income households, through suppliers and councils. ECO4 ends on 31 December 2026 and the government has said there will be no supplier-funded successor, so if you think you qualify, ask now.
10. Upgrade grants in your nation
Lower bills next winter. In England, the Warm Homes: Local Grant pays for insulation, heat pumps and solar for households with income usually of £36,000 or less in homes rated EPC D to G. In Scotland, Home Energy Scotland offers grants and interest-free loans (0808 808 2282). In Wales, Nest offers free improvements to lower-income households in cold homes (0808 808 2244). In Northern Ireland, the Affordable Warmth Scheme covers households with gross income under £23,000, through the Housing Executive (0800 111 4455).
Every upgrade grant, with amounts and status, is on our UK home and energy grants guide.
What we left out
- Ofgem's proposed debt relief scheme. We could not confirm on 29 October 2026 whether it has launched.
- The Household Support Fund, which ended in England on 31 March 2026.
- The Great British Insulation Scheme, which closed on 31 March 2026.
Questions people ask
How much is the Warm Home Discount for 2026/27?
£150, taken off your electricity bill. At the October 2026 price cap that is about 570 kWh of electricity.
Who gets the Warm Home Discount this winter?
In England and Wales, bill payers who were on Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related ESA or Pension Credit on 23 August 2026, with a supplier in the scheme. Most get it automatically.
How much gas does the Winter Fuel Payment buy?
At 7.97p per kWh, £200 buys 2,509 kWh of gas and £300 buys 3,764 kWh, before standing charges.
Is the Household Support Fund still running?
No. In England it was replaced on 1 April 2026 by the Crisis and Resilience Fund, run by councils until 31 March 2029.