New energy suppliers have joined a scheme that helps low income householders who struggle to pay their bills during the winter.

The Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme provides customers a one-off discount of £140 on their energy bills between October and April.

Those customers who receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit can also benefit from the scheme.

Larger energy suppliers with more than 250,000 customers are required to provide support to those in or at risk of fuel poverty.

Our Power, GB Energy and Bristol Energy have decided to voluntarily participate in the initiative while Extra Energy has joined the scheme after it exceeded the customer number threshold at which participation becomes mandatory.

David Fletcher, Associate Director of Energy Efficiency and Social Programmes at Ofgem E-Serve said: “We’re pleased to see the voluntary suppliers join the increased number of suppliers who will be delivering rebates under the Warm Home Discount scheme.

“It means eligible customers will have a wider range of suppliers to choose from whilst still being able to benefit from rebates on their energy bills. We look forward to working with these suppliers as part of our scheme administration duties.”