Several British households could be eligible for up to £50 towards their heating bills this winter after a bitterly cold spell. The Cold Weather Payment, issued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), aims to help vulnerable households that receive certain benefits cover their heating costs during freezing conditions.

Those eligible will receive £25 for each seven-day period when the average temperature in their area falls to freezing or below between November 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026. With Storm Goretti bringing Arctic conditions to the UK for an extended period, multiple payments may have been triggered, meaning some households could receive £50 or more. Eligible potcodes have been listed below, as reported by GBNews.

Around 154,000 households became eligible for the payments this week across Northumberland, County Durham and North Yorkshire. Parts of Greater Manchester qualified earlier in January.

More than 1.5 million households are expected to qualify for a single Cold Weather Payment this winter, and the first payments were triggered at the end of December.

Payments are made automatically and should arrive in bank accounts within 14 days of the end of the qualifying cold period, according to the DWP.

The DWP said people receiving the following benefits may be eligible:

• Pension Credit
• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Universal Credit
• Support for Mortgage Interest

Households in Scotland are not eligible for Cold Weather Payments, but they may qualify for the annual Winter Heating Payment instead.

It comes as British households now face a “typical” annual energy bill of £1,758, which is the equivalent of £146.50 per month, according to regulator Ofgem. This was based on using 11,500 kWh of gas and 2,700 kWh of electricity a year.

This would vary significantly between households, but rising energy bills have left many concerned about how to keep their homes warm this winter.

Following Ofgem’s latest price cap rise, Simon Francis from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said: “This is a case of every little hurts… we need to see much lower bills but also measures to keep people’s homes warmer every winter.”

In the Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves promised there was hope on the horizon, with the removal of some levies on energy bills. It was said this would reduce bills for millions of households by £150 a year from April.