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UK households energy debt up 12%

By Caoimhe Toman

Date: Friday 02 Nov 2018

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - The number of household who owe money to their energy company rose by 12%, or 300,000 homes, over the last year, according to survey published on Friday.


Around 3m UK households (11%) currently owe an average of £134 or a collective £400m to their energy supplier, the survey for online price comparison website uSwitch stated. The collective debt is up by £75m compared to 2017 and 36% more than it was in 2016.

The higher levels of debt this year come after a number of price hikes from large and small suppliers due to rising wholesale costs. Since the start of 2018 a total of 32 energy providers announced 55 price hikes, adding nearly £900m a year to household energy bills.

uSwitch energy spokesman Rik Smith said switching suppliers could save consumers up to £482 a year, "much more than the government's planned price cap can deliver".

"The soaring number of households in debt to their energy supplier is a clear indication of the pressure people are under just to make ends meet," he said.

"After so many price rises this year, a lot of people may have received a price rise notification over the summer but not switched to a cheaper deal. Now is the time for consumers to take action, by making their homes more energy efficient or ensuring they don't pay any more than they need to for the energy they use.

Attemps to help households tackle rising energy prices came earler this year in September when regulator Ofgem announced that more than 11m households would save a combined £1bn a year with a new price cap.

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