Ofgem report highlights growing heating retrofit activity within Warm Home Discount scheme
UK – Energy suppliers spent around £31 million on heating replacement and energy efficiency activity through the Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme last year, highlighting the growing overlap between fuel poverty support and wider retrofit activity.
The latest Ofgem annual report for Scheme Year 14 shows suppliers spent £24.7 million on energy efficiency measures in England and Wales, alongside a further £6 million on boiler and heating system replacements. In Scotland, suppliers also spent £270,695 on boiler and heating system replacements through Industry Initiatives activity.
While the report does not specifically identify heat pump installations, AgilityEco, a delivery partner involved in fuel poverty and retrofit programmes linked to supplier obligations, has previously said the current WHD framework can technically support renewables such as heat pumps.
Heat pumps increasingly linked to fuel poverty programmes
The WHD scheme was originally designed to provide bill rebates and support for households in or at risk of fuel poverty. However, suppliers are increasingly using Industry Initiatives funding to support heating upgrades, energy efficiency measures and wider home retrofit activity. According to the report, energy efficiency measures accounted for the largest share of Industry Initiatives spending in England and Wales, representing 34.3% of all activity.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Sustainable Energy says Warm Home Discount Industry Initiatives already fund activities including boiler replacements, central heating upgrades and energy efficiency measures.
Expansion could increase retrofit opportunities
The report also confirms that the Warm Home Discount scheme is set to expand significantly. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero estimates that an additional 2.7 million households will become eligible for support following the removal of the high-cost-to-heat threshold, and that the expansion is expected to increase supplier involvement in heating upgrade programmes, home retrofit activity, and fuel poverty interventions.
Several suppliers active in the heat pump and retrofit sectors, including Octopus Energy, OVO, E.ON Next and British Gas, were among those participating in the scheme.
Supplier obligations increasingly intersect with clean heat
The report also highlighted continuing links between WHD activity and wider supplier obligations such as ECO, where suppliers must ensure heating and efficiency measures are not double counted across schemes.
It’s technically possible to fund/co-fund renewables such as heat pumps under the current regulations
AgilityEco
The growing overlap reflects a broader policy trend that links fuel poverty reduction, home energy efficiency, and heating decarbonisation.
Although the Ofgem report stops short of identifying how many low-carbon heating systems were installed under the scheme, the increasing alignment among supplier obligations, retrofit delivery, and clean heat policy is becoming more visible across the sector.
Heat Pump News has contacted Ofgem to ask whether more detailed data is available on the number and type of low-carbon heating installations funded through the scheme, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
The Warm Home Discount scheme has now delivered more than £5.13 billion in cumulative support since launching in 2011.
