Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support individuals whose direct debit for energy bills has been significantly increased by their energy providers (a) at short notice and (b) by more than the corresponding increase to the energy price cap.

Ofgem requires energy suppliers to take all reasonable steps to ensure their customers’ direct debit payments are based on the best available information. For existing customers, the direct debit payments should be based on energy used over the previous year plus any price changes. Customers should receive notice of a payment increase at least 10 days in advance of the change taking place. If a customer does not receive prior notice, they can make a complaint to the energy supplier.

The energy price cap and the new energy price guarantee apply to the amount customers are charged per unit of gas or electricity, so customers’ exact bill amounts will continue to be influenced by how much energy is used.