Yahoo Finance 40% of households spending more than 10% of income on energy bills
Some energy providers are not following the rules set by the regulator as around 12 million households are now spending more than 10% of their income on energy bills.
Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of Energy UK, which represents suppliers, told MPs on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee that “some businesses are unfollowing the rules and Ofgem should tell them off more”.
She also added that suppliers can’t solve the issues affecting vulnerable consumers on their own.
The Energy UK boss said that customer calls to suppliers were up about 300% on previous years and requests for additional support were also up 300%.
Read more: Grocery bills jump by £788 as food prices hit record high
She later said, “We’ve raised concerns about the regulator time and time again,” and questioned Ofgem’s skills and capacity to deal with the problems.
Citizens Advice warned that an estimated 3.2 million people across Britain ran out of credit on their pre-payment meter last year, the equivalent of one every 10 seconds, because they could not afford to top it up.
Pinchbeck said: “Bills are still double what they were 18 months ago and we’ve got about 12 million households, which is about 40% of customers, spending more than 10% on energy. That’s the previous definition of fuel poverty.
“We need to look at targeted support but we also need to look at this as an affordability crisis across the piece and how that intersects with the wider cost of living.”
Ofgem announced it is to review the checks and balances energy firms have around placing customers on pre-payment meters, warning it will take further legal action if it finds they are not taking due care.
Ofgem boss Jonathan Brearley refuted compliance issues, but said the regulator would “root out” problems in the industry.
Read more: Two in five UK households struggling or behind with housing costs
“There is still more to do to get price regulation right, to make sure finances are working properly within the sector but I don’t think that represents the sector that I see today.
“I think there are problems and we will root them out but you have to start as a company by doing what is right for customers.
