Up to £500 million of energy bill debt is to be paid off through bill increases spread across millions of UK households, the energy regulator has said.
UK households are set to face a £5 increase in their annual energy costs to help cover the costs of energy debt that will be written off because it has never been paid.
The increase will take place for the 2027/28 year to help suppliers recover unpaid bills linked to recent surges in energy costs.
Ofgem said this rise could be lower depending on how the scheme is taken up and expects this will be somewhat offset by the measures reducing how much customers pay towards debt-related costs such as through debt collection.
It came as watchdog Ofgem said it is planning to…