Home movers in Great Britain could get just £30 of energy use without account | Energy industry

Consumers moving to a new home in Great Britain will have around two weeks to set up an energy account before their lights go out, as part of plans to reduce mounting gas and electricity debts.

Energy meters could soon be switched to remote pre-payment mode when a previous resident moves out, leaving the next resident with a £30 credit to settle into their home, under proposals put forward by the industry regulator.

But once that amount has been used, which will take about two weeks on average, they will be left in the dark unless they open a new account with an energy supplier.

The plan to encourage households to open their accounts sooner is part of regulator Ofgem’s bid to tackle Britain’s record energy debt, which has risen to almost £4.5bn – more than double what it was before the energy crisis.

It typically takes about 70 days for households to open an account with an energy supplier after moving to a new address; This means that the gas and electricity used during this period are billed to the “occupier”.

This can lead to households unknowingly building up energy debt, resulting in distressing, unexpected costs or unpaid bills.

Britain’s outstanding debts add around £52 a year to the average energy bill, helping to offset money owed to gas and electricity suppliers; Dozens of these suppliers went bankrupt during the energy crisis that began in 2021 as a spike in costs outpaced payments.

“The increasing amount of debt in the energy system is a major problem that affects us all,” said Ofgem director Charlotte Friel. “The impact is huge for those living with debt stress, households paying higher bills to service historic debts and an industry weighed down by unpaid costs.”

He said reform of the house moving process was long overdue and called on consumer groups, suppliers and charities to share their views on the plans in consultation with Ofgem before early next year.

“Moving home is stressful enough; add energy debt and it’s even worse. That’s why our new offers aim to stop debt, tackle today’s problems and prevent tomorrow’s problems,” he said.

Figures released by Ofgem in October showed nearly 1.9 million energy accounts were closed in the last five years, leaving a total outstanding loan balance of £240 million unclaimed. Anyone who has moved in recent years has been urged to check if they owe repayments on previous accounts.