Two million energy customers are due £240m from old accounts, says Ofgem | Ofgem

Almost 2 million energy bill payers could be owed £240 million from old accounts that were closed while they were still on credit, according to the regulator.

Latest figures from Ofgem show nearly 1.9 million energy accounts have been closed in the last five years, leaving a total outstanding loan balance of £240 million unclaimed.

The regulator is urging anyone who has moved in recent years to check if they owe repayments from previous accounts. Ofgem said some may owe just a few pounds, but others may owe more than £100.

Tim Jarvis, Ofgem’s chief executive of markets, said that although suppliers “work hard to refund people money” when they close an account, they are “stuck without correct contact details” in line with industry rules.

“The message is very clear: if you have moved within the last five years, reach out to your old supplier, give them the correct information and you can get your money back,” Jarvis said.

Energy bill payers face a tough winter after the regulator removed the maximum limit suppliers can charge 29 million households for each unit of gas and electricity from the start of this month.

Despite a 2% drop in wholesale prices in energy markets over the summer, the average price cap for households paying by direct debit has risen by £35 to £1,755 for a typical annual dual fuel bill, reigniting concerns about energy affordability in the UK.

Ofgem said on Thursday it would press ahead with plans to clear £500m of debt from around 195,000 people who accumulated debts of more than £100 during the energy crisis.

The first phase of the scheme could offer eligible bill payers debt relief of around £1,200 per account, or around £2,400 per dual-fuel customer. The cost of this policy will be paid for by adding around £5 a year to the average dual-fuel bill by 2027-28.

The measure is expected to have only a minor impact on Britain’s deepening energy debt crisis, which reached a record £4.4bn in unpaid bills by the end of June. The Office for National Statistics found in April that a record number of British households were unable to pay their energy bills with direct debit because there was not enough money in their bank accounts.