Asked by: Nesil Caliskan (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to protect energy customers from being charged for historic debt arising from estimated billing where a meter was incorrectly installed by the energy supplier.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government expects suppliers to treat customers fairly and resolve billing complaints promptly. Ofgem’s back-billing rules protect domestic customers from charges for energy used more than 12 months ago where they were not accurately billed or notified of the charges, unless they acted unreasonably. Billing mistakes and meter problems can give rise to these protections.
Ofgem’s July 2026 domestic billing assessment examined billing accuracy and back-billing protections, reporting over £172 million written off under these rules. Ofgem is working directly with suppliers to address weaknesses, including how exceptions are recorded, and improve billing outcomes.
At the Budget, the government announced a new Debt Circuit Breaker Strategy, including a one-off, targeted Debt Relief Scheme, that will reduce the stock of debt for vulnerable consumers in return for engagement with paying bills. Measures in this strategy could save all households around £130 over the next 10 years, compared to if they were not introduced, and should prevent the accumulation of more than £5bn of new debt by 2036.