Warm Home Discount Scheme £120 rebate on your electricity bill if you qualify

Can't see this information posted anywhere. Had an email of my supplier Ebico today mentioning this discount, appears to give you a saving/rebate of £120 on your electricity this winter 2011/12 and for the next 4 years if you qualify. This is on top of the Winter Fuel Payment as well.

This is what the Direct Gov site says about the new Warm Home Discount Scheme http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/Benefits/BenefitsInRetirement/DG_185940

Who can get the Warm Home Discount
You may qualify for this energy rebate if you get only the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit on the qualifying date (11 September 2011). You will not qualify if you get the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit.

To qualify, your energy provider must be participating in this scheme – see ‘Energy suppliers participating in this scheme’ below. Your name, or your partner’s name must be on the electricity bill.

If you’re not receiving Guarantee Credit
Energy companies may also give a £120 rebate to some customers who don’t receive Guarantee Credit. Participating energy companies will identify customers who they think could be eligible.

What you need to do
If you qualify you don’t need to take any action now.
How much you can get
If you qualify you’ll receive £120 towards your electricity bill in winter 2011/12.

When you’ll get your Warm Home Discount
The first energy rebates will be made in winter 2011/12. If you qualify you’ll get a letter this winter to confirm this.

If you qualify, but an automatic rebate can’t be made, you’ll receive a letter asking you to provide further information. This information will be available on your electricity bill.

How the Warm Home Discount Scheme works
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and participating electricity suppliers will share some limited information about their customers. This allows participating electricity suppliers to give the energy rebate automatically to customers who qualify.
The Warm Home Discount Scheme will run for four years from winter 2011/12.
Rebates will be paid and funded by participating electricity suppliers.
Energy suppliers participating in the scheme
The electricity suppliers involved in this scheme are: Atlantic, British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, Equipower, Equigas, Manweb, M&S Energy, npower, Sainsbury's Energy, Scottish Gas, Scottish Hydro, ScottishPower, Southern Electric, SSE, Swalec and Utility Warehouse,

Energy Rebate Scheme
The Energy Rebate Scheme helped some people to get a one-off rebate for 2010 on their electricity bill. This scheme closed on 1 September 2010.
The Energy Rebate Scheme also shared limited information between the DWP and energy suppliers to identify who qualified for a rebate on electricity bills. But the rules for the Energy Rebate Scheme and Warm Home Discount Scheme are different.

Cold Weather Payment and Winter Fuel Payment
The Warm Home Discount will not affect any Cold Weather Payment or Winter Fuel Payment you may receive.




This is what my electricity company Ebico says at the moment

The Warm Home Discount Scheme - for electricity customers
In April this year the UK Government introduced new mandatory measures for energy suppliers to offer assistance to certain groups of vulnerable and low income households through the ‘Warm Home Discount Scheme’ (WHDS). This scheme replaces all current “social tariffs” and will last for four years. Not all details on how the scheme will operate are available yet but the main criteria are as follows:-

Households with

a person in receipt of the Guarantee element of Pension Credit only (i.e. they do not receive Savings Credit) will automatically receive a £120 discount off their Q1 bill. They don’t need to do anything for this to happen.
Households with:

EITHER
a person in receipt the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit only, or in receipt of both Guaranteed and Savings Pension Credit elements,
OR
a person on Income Support or Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance (i.e. NOT Contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance)
AND

Either
a child under 5
or

a person on Income Support with a disability premium
or
a person on Income Support with a pensioner premium
will qualify for the £120 rebate in their Q1 bill, but they have to apply for it (by phoning 0800 300 111) and they need to be prepared to prove that they qualify by producing documentary evidence of the benefits they receive.
Households that apply and qualify for WHDS will have to re-apply every year.

This information page will be updated regularly once full details on the administration of the scheme are available.

On a separate note from what is posted above A bit more info if you receive Winter Fuel payments (they may have changed for some people this year)http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/Benefits/BenefitsInRetirement/DG_179916