“It is simply not fair that vulnerable customers face barriers to switching to the market’s best deals.” Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, agreed that "all suppliers should have to offer the Warm Home Discount". "Energy consumers are already paying too much - it’s wrong poor and vulnerable customers could miss out on this much needed discount simply because their supplier is deemed too small," she said. A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said: "Around 98 per cent of household energy is covered by companies that give the Warm Home Discount. We continually keep our efforts to help the vulnerable under review and, as part of this, are looking at ways of bringing more smaller suppliers into the scheme." British Gas, SSE, E.On, EDF Energy, ScottishPower, nPower, First Utility, Utility Warehouse, Ovo Energy, Co-operative Energy, Utilita and Extra Energy Source: Department of Energy and Climate Change
Vulnerable suppliers may lose out financially if they change energy companies as many of the cheapest suppliers do not pay the £ 140 ‘ Warm Home Discount ’ . Consumer groups are calling on the government to require all suppliers to provide the payment , which is designed to help poor suppliers pay their winter energy bills . At present , only suppliers with 250,000 or more customers have to offer the rebate . Approximately two million householders each year , the majority of whom are pensioners , receive the discount . USwitch has shown that only two of the top ten cheapest deals are from suppliers providing the payment . Last year , this figure was six out of 10 .