Warm Home discount and comparison

doveman wrote: »

Would I be likely to receive WHD as a 46 year old whose only income is disability benefits and a small civil service pension of around £50/month?

I'm about to switch from EON, whom I've paid £403 over the last 12 months for 2,782kWh units of electricity. I'm with Better Energy for gas on a fixed tariff until 2019, so I'm only switching electricity at the moment.

The cheapest option with WHD and half-decent feedback is Extra Energy Sunrise Fixed Price Oct 2019 v1, which will cost £449/yr but if I'm likely to get the WHD (how much is it for electricity only?) then that's the best option.

The cheapest 1 year fix option without WHD and with half-decent feedback is One Select at £430/yr, so the WHD option isn't going to cost me much more anyway but I'd still like to make an informed decision.

doveman wrote: »

Thanks. I get IR ESA as well so at least there's a chance I'd get WHD.

I understand each supplier can have different criteria, so I've asked EON and Extra Energy to send me theirs. I had to contact Extra Energy via Twitter as they don't provide an e-mail address and they just replied to say that applications are closed now. I replied to say I know that and I'm asking for next year but they haven't come back to me since.

On the other hand, EON's cheapest fixed tariff, Smart Saver v3, would cost me £496.73/year (about £93 more than I'm currently paying) if I don't get WHD. They say anyone who gets WHD will be automatically moved to their EnergyPlan Assist tariff but this appears to be a variable tariff and I can't find the details of what this will cost, so I've asked for them to be sent to me. https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/products-and-services/energy-plan-assist

Hello doveman and it depends on whether you fall in the Core or Broader groups as to what will happen with the Warm Home Discount.

If you come under the Core Group, you'll receive the payment (£140 for 2017/18) automatically and don't need to apply. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) identify which customers qualify in this group and contact them directly. The DWP also tell us and, provided we supply the electricity on the qualifying date, we'll make the payment. This is the case even if there's been a change of supplier since the qualifying date.

With the Broader Group, we identify the customers who are eligible based on their receipt of certain benefits. These conditions can change year on year and you'll need to apply separately each year as applications aren't rolled over from one year to the next. Also, if you change electricity supplier before we've given you the discount, you'll need to contact the new supplier to see if you can apply to them instead. Applications can't be transferred between suppliers. There are more details including a form to register an interest with us for the 2018/19 scheme on our website.

As you say, each energy supplier involved with Warm Home Discount handles the Broader Group part in their own way. We haven't finalised details of the 2018/19 scheme yet but we'll be in touch with customers who've registered an interest later in the year once we know what's happening.

With our Energy Plan Assist tariff, this is available to customers who have received Warm Home Discount from us since 2016 or have been approved to receive the payment this year. It's a variable tariff with prices below the cap set by the industry regulator. These are cheaper than our existing Standard Energy Plan deal. If you've registered with our website, you'll be able to see the unit prices and daily standing charges through the quote tool. As our advisor explained, if you're currently on a Fixed Tariff, you'll automatically go on to Energy Plan Assist once the existing deal ends unless you change supplier or pick a different E.ON tariff.

Hope this is of interest doveman. Let me know if you need any more details as happy to help.

Malc

doveman wrote: »

Hi Malc

As you can't tell me what EON's criteria for the Broader group will be for 2018/19 as it hasn't been decided yet I can have no idea whether I'll qualify. I can hardly be expected to gamble and decide to stay with EON in the hope that I will qualify, knowing that if I don't it will cost me about £100/year more than if I'd switched.

As for your Energy Plan Assist tariff, you say this is cheaper than your Standard Energy Plan tariff but that's not so great as Standard tariffs are generally the most expensive. So the Energy Plan Assist tariff could be considerably more expensive than one of your other tariffs and the difference could end up cancelling out the benefit of the WHD. Why don't EON just publish the tariff details rather than only showing them to people who have registered?

Hello doveman and thanks for coming back to me.

I agree, you can only decide which way to go based on the actual details available now. Best not to factor in the Warm Home Discount until you definitely know you're eligible.

As I mentioned above, Energy Assist is only available to customers who have received Warm Home Discount from us since 2016 or have been approved to receive the payment this year. These customers are only put on this tariff where a current deal has ended and they haven't been in touch to tell us differently. They can opt for another tariff if they wish or change supplier without penalty as there are no exit fees with Energy Assist.

Similar to our other tariffs, prices vary depending on the region. They're available online through the quote tool by popping in the address or, if registered with the website, by logging in.

Hope this explains doveman.

Malc