Charities are ramping up calls on the Government for a “help to repay” scheme on power bills as research showed one in four households with energy debts is unable to repay arrears.
It comes after recent figures from industry regulator Ofgem showed consumer energy debts had reached a record £2.6 billion. The research also revealed the difficulties those in energy arrears are facing, with 18% saying they are unable to get through to their supplier when they try to contact them to discuss the debt, and one in four regularly losing sleep because of worry over energy debts.
Matt Copeland, head of policy and public affairs at National Energy Action, said: “Failure to provide support to reduce energy bills and energy debt would be catastrophic, leaving millions of households unable to stay warm and healthy this winter.