Experts at Uswitch have said that households already owe £1.3 billion to their energy suppliers two months before bills are set to soar by more than 80 per cent. New research by the comparison website suggests that the overall debt bill is already three times higher than it was a year ago and seems likely to grow further over the winter.
According to its latest survey, some six million homes across the UK owe an average of £206 to their energy provider, up slightly from April when the same average debt was £188. Normally during the warmer summer spell, people have built up a credit safety net to help them offset the increased bills during the colder months.
Regulator Ofgem is expected to hike the price cap on energy bills to £3,582 per year for the average household with typical usage from the start of October, according to a new forecast by Cornwall Insight.
