Research from Citizens Advice suggests around 2.8 million customers have fallen behind on at least one energy bill during the pandemic.
The consumer charity also estimates that 3 million have struggled with their water bill.
Broadband and mobile phone bills are areas where people are more likely to have been in debt (3.4 million) while 2.8 million faced debt on council tax and 1.2 million on rent.
Citizens Advice has called on the government to step in with financial help for those suffering from debt as a result of coronavirus. It said while the exact mechanism for such relief will vary across sectors, it should be approached with the following principles in mind:
- Financial support should be offered across sectors
- Financial support should be offered as a one-off intervention to help deal with debts built up due to coronavirus
- Help should be targeted at those who have borne the brunt of the financial impact of coronavirus
- The costs of relief should be shared between the government, creditors, and individuals
The charity added that help mechanisms could include funding for local authorities to support people behind on council tax, loans and grants for landlords and tenants to make up rent arrears and help people stay in their homes, and new guidance for banks to reschedule and provide relief for unaffordable lockdown debts.
In response to the research, a spokesperson from Energy UK agreed there needs to be a continued role for government in supporting consumers impacted by Covid-19.
They said: “At the outset of the pandemic, energy suppliers acted quickly to introduce additional support for customers financially impacted by coronavirus, particularly those in vulnerable circumstances and suppliers will continue to help their customers during this challenging time.
“Rising customer debt levels, along with increased system and policy costs, do however pose significant challenges for an industry already operating with tight margins. So there will need to be a continued role for government in supporting households adversely impacted by Covid-19 and who may be struggling to pay for essential services like their energy bills.”
Janine Shackleton, policy manager and vulnerability/social policy specialist at the Consumer Council for Water, warned of low customer awareness of support schemes.
She said: “While water companies were quick to step in to offer payment holidays and other financial support when coronavirus hit, low customer awareness of support schemes such as social tariffs could prevent some of the households worst affected by the impact of coronavirus from accessing financial and practical support from their water company.
“Up to a third of customers aren’t aware that their water company can offer help when they hit hard times, so it’s now more crucial than ever that water companies step up their efforts to tell their customers what support is on offer and how they can access it.”
Meanwhile Ed Dodman, director of regulatory affairs at the Energy Ombudsman, said: “Given the economic impact of Covid-19, it’s sadly no surprise that many people are struggling to keep up with household bills.
“It’s noteworthy that, according to the research, fewer people have fallen into debt with energy than with telecoms services like mobile and broadband.
“We’ve produced advice for both energy suppliers and consumers on how we’ll approach complaints impacted by Covid-19, including where the consumer has been financially affected.
“Rising levels of debt look set to be an issue across the sector over the coming months. When investigating complaints we will look to see if the supplier followed Ofgem’s guidelines on supporting consumers affected by Covid-19 at the time of the complaint.”