Household energy debt has hit an all-time high of £1.3 billion – a more than 150% increase on September last year – new figures from Uswitch.com have revealed.
The figures are extrapolated from a weighted survey of 2,000 UK adults, which found 23% customers – equating to 6 million households – owe an average of £206 to their energy retailer.
That is almost 10% more than the £188 that was owed on average in April and comes at a time when billpayers would normally be building up credit during the warmer months.
Uswitch, which has collected data on debt since 2013, explained that towards the end of September 2021 total UK energy debt was £522 million. This increased to £1.2 billion in April and further still to more than £1.3 billion last month as soaring wholesale costs continued to exacerbate the energy crisis.
Furthermore, the comparison service found that since April, when the latest price cap came into effect, there has been a reduction in the number of people who are in credit, from 11 million to 9 million. Meanwhile, a total of 8 million households have no credit balance at all.
Justina Miltienyte, head of policy at Uswitch.com, said the record increase in the amount of debt had “the worst possible timing”.
She added: “Our data shows that while a similar proportion of people are in debt as in April – people now owe approximately 10% more than just four months ago to their energy suppliers.
“This is an alarming situation, as summer is traditionally a time when households are using less power for heating, which helps bill payers to build up energy credit ahead of the winter.”
The news came as analysts increased their forecasts for the price cap on defaults tariffs in in response to recent decisions by Ofgem, with Cornwall Insight predicting the cap to rise to £3,582 in October and then £4,266 in January.
Supporting customers through this winter and identifying emerging vulnerabilities are among the key themes at the Utility Week Forum, which will take place in London on 8-9 November. Find out more here.
