The findings point to continuing pressure on household budgets after years of high energy bills. The poll, conducted by Opinium, surveyed 2,000 UK adults between May 29 and June 1. It found that 9% of adults were already behind on payments to their energy supplier, while a further 22%, around 12 million people, were worried about falling behind.
Households Cut Back as Arrears Build
The survey found that 45% of parents with a child under 18 were either in debt or worried about falling behind. Among disabled people, the figure was 35%.
For those already in energy debt, the effects were not limited to unpaid bills. According to the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, 32% said they had tried to use less energy over the past 12 months by turning off heating or taking shorter showers. A quarter said they had kept their home colder or warmer than was comfortable, while 21% had missed rent or mortgage payments.
The survey also reported that more than one in five people in energy debt had skipped meals. A further 18% said they had used a food bank for support with costs or arrears.
Some respondents also reported unsafe or distressing borrowing situations. Among those in debt or worried about missing payments, 13% owed money to “someone who makes them feel scared”. That rose to 24% among those already in arrears.
Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said the figures showed “the true cost of years of failure to fix energy debt caused by the sharp increases in bills”. He said the findings pointed to “a can’t pay crisis, not a won’t pay one”.
Calls Grow for Debt Relief and Supplier Action
Support from energy suppliers was described as mixed. According to the survey, 15% of those in arrears had been referred to a hardship fund and 15% were on a repayment plan.
At the same time, 13% said they had had no contact from their supplier in the past 12 months. Fewer than one in five people in arrears felt they had been treated fairly by their supplier, while just 8% had been referred to debt advice.
Janine Michael, chief executive of the Centre for Sustainable Energy, said her organisation speaks daily to people struggling with energy bills “not because they won’t pay, but because they can’t”. She called for the energy debt relief scheme to be brought forward, alongside access to proper debt advice.
Energy UK also pointed to the scale of the problem. Ned Hammond, its deputy director of customer policy, said household energy debt had doubled to £5.5 billion in recent years and could reach £7 billion by the end of this year. He said suppliers were doing what they could, but added that the industry could not fix the crisis alone.
