Energy news in general

bristolleedsfan

More detail of what Energy UK said.

https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/news/energy-debt-hits-6-billion/

"The latest data illustrate that over three million customers are now in debt or arrears and the average amount owed is around £1,800"

JKenH

Perhaps a slightly cynical and controversial take on this but the more we make excuses (cost of living crisis etc.) the more people will consider it ok to pass on paying their bills. Compared to previous generations there is little stigma attached to being in arrears.

Arrears are not solely a function of higher energy prices. There was a trend of increasing arrears that started long before the Ukraine war.

It is virtually impossible for a supplier to cut someone off and suppliers have to jump through increasing regulatory hoops before a pre-payment meter can be forced on a customer. On top of this the OFGEM Energy Debt Relief Scheme, while well meaning, does not discourage impecunity. Interest is no5 chargeable on utility company debt, so why rush to pay? There are several utilities schemes to reduce debt or even write off some off the debt but you have to be in debt and demonstrate an inability to pay - if you are employed cash in hand, on paper that may not be so difficult. Loopholes have long existed but it is only in relatively recent times that it has become socially acceptable (in fact encouraged on some social media sites) to exploit these to maximum advantage.

Nowadays utilities debt is almost universally regarded as an indicator of systemic failure - it is not the customer’s fault. There has been a societal change favouring those in poverty. It is almost virtuous to be in debt - it is beyond criticism in institutions like OFGEM.

I am not disputing that there are many genuine cases of hardship but it is too easy to take the soft option of blaming everybody except those who run up debt. How often do OFGEM ever point out publicly that there may be an element of bill dodging in a (small or significant?) number of cases. They don’t - because that is being judgemental. Meanwhile organisations like Don’t Pay UK encouraged people not to pay their utility bills.

There has been huge societal change in favour of those who seek to evade financial responsibility. It is hard to believe that this is not having an impact on the number of customers in arrears.

The reality is the responsibility for meeting unpaid energy bills is simply shifted from those who don’t pay to those who do; i.e. arrears end up on the bills of those who accept they have a moral as well as a legal obligation to pay for goods and services they choose to use - i.e. the likes of me and you.

Scot_39

Ofgem data charts for their debt in repayment and 90day+ arrears without a repayment plan yet in place - are still only updated to end Q1 2026.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/data/debt-and-arrears-indicators

And their total debt in repayment+90days arrears a lower £4.79 bn at end of March 2026. Up £240m in that quarter. Suspect we might see headlines soon quoting them going over £5bn at that rate for Q2.

There are over 1.1m electric customers in their arrears stats - so not yet in formal dept repayment - and 851,000 - in actual debt repayment plans (as of end Q1).

Lets call that a round 2 million - out of c29 million homes (my guess - figures Ive read vary wildly from 25m to 33m) in last couple of years.

There are lower numbers for gas - but no idea if they are the same households or not (I'd guess they would be - but only a guess) - given way Ofgem chart the results.

And the problem is we all - when Ofgem last produced the new single figure debt cost - paying £50 - to try and keep control of the growing debts of others.

Ofgem were also consulting last year - adding more debt specials - writing off debt - paid for by you guessed it other consumers. Not sure where thats at now.

Its ironic that the govt - after 2 years of EM and others policy continually loading our bills - has started to accept - at least temporarily - bills are no longer suitable place to indiscriminately recover - regardless of peoples energy needs and ability to pay - at least some green levies (but remember 25% of RO remains and other scandals like 3% on unit rates for FIT subsidies remain).

But still load the bills of all - including those getting or for those genuinely in debt needing help (the cant not the wont pay - if any) - like the 6.1m with WHD and those 0.85m in repayment if not all 2m in both Ofgem catagories - with supplier debt. WHD and debt aid - around another £100 combined (iirc £96+VAT) as of Apr 26 on the top line at cap levels.

Energy debt isnt new - the Ofgem charts show spikes in past.

The only glimmer of hope in Ofgem charts - but too soon to claim victory - given the July 13%, Oct 4% (despite 5% vat cut on electric) and others including MSE forecasting as much as 10%+ to come in Jan rises in prices - is the potential recent plateau on the numbers in arrears.

Simply passing the debt onto other bill payers arguably suits govts, suppliers and of course (if they exist in any real numbers) the deliberate wont payers.

Govts (of both hues in WM over recent decades) have loaded £100s onto the bills of all of us - including no doubt many of the 2m in Ofgem stats - over many years - like the £122 RO - the first scheme on that started 24 years ago - the last 9 years ago iirc - in GB, Eco, other net zero, WHD etc - making the problem far worse for those struggling with costs.

You do have to wonder - how much lower debt levels for many of the current 2m would be (and historically would have been) - if they hadn't.

JKenH

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82109876#Comment_82109876

The Guardian article linked by QrizB in the comment below made this observation about the fall in TDCV.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82116624#Comment_82116624

“The average bill under the price cap was calculated assuming lower annual energy use than in previous years, because the high cost of energy has forced many households to use less gas and electricity as debt levels rise.”

Ildhund

@JKenH quoted:

The Guardian article linked by QrizB in the comment below made this observation about the fall in TDCV:
“The average bill under the price cap was calculated assuming lower annual energy use than in previous years, because the high cost of energy has forced many households to use less gas and electricity as debt levels rise.”

The Guardian has extracted just one of many reasons why energy use has declined in 'recent years' to support its own arguments. Ofgem exposes several different causes of the fall in consumption, which interested readers can find for example under the sub-heading Consumption drivers in §3.1 - 3.8 of their Review of typical domestic consumption values

debitcardmayhem

Another addition to standing charges GSO to fund hydrogen projects

https://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/news/energy-costs-31-8-26/

molerat

Conversation in DESNZ

I've got an idea

All very good but how are we going to fund it ?

Put a levy on energy consumers, simples !

Increasing tax without increasing tax.

DESNZ / OFGEM, replacing HMRC as the nation's tax collector.

Scot_39

At a peak of well over £200 (£236 ex VAT) before Aprils partial shift of RO to taxation for the policy line alone - energy bills have been raising money for things like Eco and Net Zero subsidies for literally decades.

And even after the budget changes - the Apr policy line was still £106+vat.

Quite often the charges come in as a trickle.

Like the £1 pm for the recent nuclear funding plan (for Sizewell etc), £2 a month - like the recent WHD Extension and re costing (kind of backbilled) of total scheme costs (added £24 to total c£46 ex VAT over 3m - again until Apr move to unit rates - paid fully by those in receipt too).

And hey presto years later - and your suddenly at the peak £236 - over £20 pm by time add VAT.

You have to wonder whether without those "stealth taxes" - the majority of the c2m folk currently in Ofgem debt / 90 day+ arrears figures to suppliers - would be in as much debt or in fact in some cases any debt at all.

Take Ofgems Q1 £4.79bn/2m = c£2400 on average per fuel (if not per household) - a couple of hundred pounds less on top lines a year for many could have made their total debts a lot lower.

Ironically the costs of helping the poorest - the WHD £46 (now only if can afford to consume at cap TDCV) - and the debt £50 - even just those two werec/ are adding c£100 to their top line bills.

Scot_39

Gas Hit 176p/therm briefly earlier today.

(uk but also eu live ) pricing spiking again according to this one metric

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/uk-natural-gas

Thought July c150p bad enough.

Looked today as someone mentioned oil as a useful guide to future energy costs in another thread but as table below chart

Gas spot up almost 125% cf this time last year.

OIL only near 35%.

furures on ICE site - not had a chance to review yet.

Since weekend spat and maybe also as pertinent fresh warnings on stores ( e.g. Germany industry body prediction looking likely to miss Nov target released c3 days ago at current fill rates).

Not sure if thats still eu lowered targets (10% lower advised in spring - were they adopted EU wide ?). Are they still in place this winter ? Or are stores having to make any of that 10% relaxation up now if followed the new target advice over summer increasing demand side pressures - so prices even more - now ?

michaels

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82116624#Comment_82116624

Of course about 400-500 of that increase is down to the seasonality of energy usage coupled with fixed monthly DD payments designed to average over the year.

Then there is a question of how often DDs are reassessed, if they are not updated until April then the rest of the increase in debt is explained entirely by the Oct and Jan price increases not triggering an immediate DD adjustment.

A final note, if you fall out of DD/prepay you become subject to about £130 pa of late payment charges/higher tariff so that could also go a long way to explaining why increasing arrears are very hard to escape.