Help With Energy Bills This Winter: Every Scheme in One Place

You can get more help with energy bills this winter than you might think. The Budget on 28 October 2026 added a £100 Household Energy Payment and kept VAT off electricity until July 2027. Those sit alongside the Warm Home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payments. Below you'll find each scheme, who it's for and what you need to do.

Geek Notes

This winter you can get the £100 Household Energy Payment (bands A to D in England), VAT-free electricity until July 2027, the Warm Home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payments. If you can't pay, call your supplier. For a lower bill every year, a heat pump with the right design now beats gas on running costs, and grants of £7,500, or £9,000 for homes on oil or LPG, cut the upfront cost.

Help You Don't Need to Claim

£100 Household Energy Payment

• Who: households in Council Tax bands A to D in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have funding for similar support.
• How much: £100.
• When: paid into bank accounts from January 2027.
• What to do: nothing, as far as the government has said. Check your Council Tax band to see if you qualify, or read our guide to the £100 payment.

VAT-Free Electricity

• Who: everyone who pays for electricity.
• How much: the government says the extension takes about £50 off the price cap in April 2027.
• When: until 1 July 2027.
• What to do: nothing. Your supplier applies it.

Help You May Need to Check or Claim

Warm Home Discount

Eligible households get money off their electricity bill each year, for example if they're on certain benefits or a low income. Many people get it without applying, but some need to check. See if you qualify on GOV.UK.

Winter Fuel Payment

People over State Pension age get a yearly payment towards heating costs. Check eligibility and amounts on GOV.UK.

Cold Weather Payment

If you're on certain benefits, you get a payment when your area has, or is forecast to have, a very cold spell lasting seven days. See the details on GOV.UK.

Help From Your Energy Supplier

If you're struggling to pay, call your supplier. Many offer payment plans, payment breaks or hardship funds. If you're older, disabled or have a health condition, ask to join their Priority Services Register.

Not sure what you can claim? Citizens Advice can help you check.

What Else Changes

• The gas standing charge goes by the end of 2027 or soon after. Ofgem will move the cost into the price of each unit of gas. Most homes will pay less. Higher users may pay a little more, and the government says it will set out support for them. See what it means for your bills.
• Forecasters expect the price cap to rise in January. The £100 payment is there to help with it.
• The government won't add new policy costs to bills until it sets a new framework in 2027, unless they bring bills down.

Help That Lowers Your Bills Every Year

The schemes above get you through this winter, but next winter your heating bill starts from the same place. These change that.

Heat Pump Grants

In England and Wales, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £7,500 towards swapping a gas boiler for a heat pump, or £9,000 if your home runs on oil or LPG. The Budget confirmed the scheme through 2027-28. Read about it on GOV.UK.

In Scotland, the Home Energy Scotland grant covers heat pumps instead. You apply yourself with your installer's quote, and Home Energy Scotland pays the grant after your install. See which grant you can get.

Warm Homes Loan Scheme

This new scheme lets you spread the upfront cost of heat pumps, solar panels and batteries. The government says those three could cut bills by up to £550 a year.

Warm Homes Plan

If you're on a low income or live in social housing, your council or mayor may fund home upgrades through the Warm Homes Plan. The Budget protected most of that funding, so ask your council what's on offer.

A Heat Pump, Now Cheaper to Run Than Gas

The Budget tipped the numbers towards heat pumps. Read why.

Scrapping the standing charge adds about 1.14p to every unit of gas, and electricity gets no new levies. Both changes lower the efficiency a heat pump needs to beat an 85% efficient gas boiler.

On January's forecast prices, a heat pump needed a SCOP of about 3.2 to heat your home for less than gas. After the Budget, it needs about 2.8. Heat Geek designs run from 3.4 to 5.0, and we guarantee the figure in your quote.

For a typical home after the Budget:

Estimates for a typical home with a heat pump at SCOP 3.7, using the Ofgem price cap and the January 2027 forecast. Your home and tariff will change the figures.

See what the Budget means for your home. Our Budget 2026 heat pump calculator shows your gas bill, your heat pump bill and the gap between them. Pick your home size and tariff to start.

After the £7,500 grant, Heat Geek installs in England and Wales start from £5,200 for a small home and £6,600 for a 3-bed semi.

A heat pump can work in almost any UK home with the right design. If yours is the exception, or a heat pump won't save you money, we'll tell you before you spend anything.

Get your personalised heat pump estimate

Enter your address on our homepage and you'll see an estimate for your home in seconds.

Why Heat Geek

• The right design. We design every system around your home, balancing what you pay upfront against what it costs to run.
• The right installer. A certified Heat Geek from your area fits it, trained and verified to our standard.
• The right result. You get our performance guarantee, a warranty of up to 10 years and monitoring of your heat pump from day one.

Local to you, backed by us.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Budget 2026: Breathing space for today, hope for the future
• Citizens Advice: What the Autumn Budget 2026 means for you
• GOV.UK: Warm Home Discount
• GOV.UK: Winter Fuel Payment
• GOV.UK: Cold Weather Payment
• GOV.UK: Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Last updated 28 October 2026. We'll update this page as schemes and dates change.