Warm Home discount - beware! not all suppliers participate

snowcat53

The Warm Home discount is a government scheme giving 130 off energy bills for those eligible (over80s getting guaranteed credit element of pension credit, etc) .

HOWEVER not all suppliers are part of the scheme - one such being Ovo. It appears this is not flagged up by comparison sites, and so the results may be misleading for those who are eligible for this discount. So if Ovo appear to be the best deal they will likely not be if this is taken into account

List of suppliers here
https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/eligibility

Anyone know of others who are not part of it?

macman

So basically it is only the Big 6, and suppliers who resell from the Big 6.
That covers about 95% of the market, but of course not 95% of the total number of suppliers.

pooch

snowcat53 wrote: »

The Warm Home discount is a government scheme giving 130 off energy bills for those eligible (over80s getting guaranteed credit element of pension credit, etc) .

HOWEVER not all suppliers are part of the scheme - one such being Ovo. It appears this is not flagged up by comparison sites, and so the results may be misleading for those who are eligible for this discount. So if Ovo appear to be the best deal they will likely not be if this is taken into account

List of suppliers here
https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/eligibility

Anyone know of others who are not part of it?

Any supplier not on the list, presumably

e.g.
Co-op
Spark Energy
First Utility
iSupply
Ecotricity
LoCO2 Energy
Good Energy
Green Energy UK (they use the Opus licence, but Opus don't participate as they only tend to supply businesses)

etc

Since switching and saving is said to save over £250 on average, then sticking with the current supplier/tariff for the sake of £130 warm home discount is perhaps not a wise decision.

snowcat53

pooch wrote: »

Since switching and saving is said to save over £250 on average, then sticking with the current supplier/tariff for the sake of £130 warm home discount is perhaps not a wise decision.

Well that figure of £250 certainly doesn't apply to most savvy serial switchers. For my mother for whom I sort out her supplier, this £130 is a huge consideration.

snowcat53

I am puzzled as to why not all suppliers are part of this. Does it cost them?

From Ovo website FAQs:

We don’t currently offer the Warm Home scheme as we prefer to offer the best value to all of our customers. We work hard to provide the most competitive fixed tariffs possible and feel that this is the best way to help customers manage their energy bills.

Richie-from-the-Boro

snowcat53 wrote: »

I am puzzled as to why not all suppliers are part of this. Does it cost them?

From Ovo website FAQs:

We don't currently offer the Warm Home scheme as we prefer to offer the best value to all of our customers. We work hard to provide the most competitive fixed tariffs possible and feel that this is the best way to help customers manage their energy bills.

Yes - its funded by energy suppliers, and expensive, not all suppliers can fund it or choose to fund it as part of their 'corporate social responsibility model'. As others have stated the wealthy 6 all agreed to fund the scheme. In addition to the big 6 who fund both the Core & Broader groups - Utility Warehouse & Equigas fund the Core group only.

snowcat - see this [2012] briefing paper for 'meat on the bones'

macman

snowcat53 wrote: »

Well that figure of £250 certainly doesn't apply to most savvy serial switchers. For my mother for whom I sort out her supplier, this £130 is a huge consideration.

You simply factor it in, the same as you would factor in any ETC or cashback. If the gross saving with a non-participating supplier is more than £130, then it's worth losing the £130.

snowcat53

Macman - yes, now I know I can factor it in,. But i had previously believed this was govt money which was not dependent on the supplier.
.

macman

It is government money (i.e. yours and mine). But participation in the scheme is not compulsory for all suppliers, just as participation in the FIT's programme is not compulsory for the smaller providers, because it would place an unfair administrative burden on them.
In essence, it was a poorly conceived and poorly executed political gambit. Essentially, as far as the Broader Group is concerned, the suppliers have been able to make their own decisions on eligibility without any common reference points.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Prior to [2008 budget voluntary agreement, the then Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband,] 2009 the pre-existing voluntary 'social tariffs' handed out by energy suppliers were a controversial miss-match of smoke and mirrors and convoluted gerrymandered application systems designed to make it difficult to apply, difficult to get, and impossible to compare different suppliers. Take up then as expected [and by design] was minimal and 'fuel poverty' increased. The Voluntary Agreement came to an end in March 2011.

The DWP define the CORE group using amongst other things the CWP as a 'passport' - that group, the by definition largest part of the statutory cake, and that's an even handed cost administrative way to go about it in my opinion. The non-statutory BROADER - cherry on the top group also have huge benefits, but as its non-statutory have to make their own case and are funded only after the CORE, and that's an even handed cost administrative way to go about it in my opinion, arguing it in any other way is a false equivalence.

The funding comes from the participating energy suppliers, not subsidised by government from tax receipts. The suppliers pass on to energy customers through their energy bills, and that's a cost effective way to do it and the way it should be. Both groups benefit, we live in a civilised and wealthy society and anyone defined as 'fuel poor' is entitled to a bite or the cake ~ or the cherry.

gas4you

My mother, who is over 80, got the letter from the 'government' yesterday.

It very clearly stated in it which suppliers were part of this deal.

Unfortunately she does not qualify.