Citizens Advice responds to the latest Ofgem price cap

Responding to the latest Ofgem price cap, Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: 

“Today’s price cap rise pushes energy prices to a three year high. It’s another sign of the relentless erosion of living standards across the country: energy bills are simply too high, prices leapfrog incomes, and debt levels continue to grow. 

"The government has already taken positive action to cut levies and VAT on electricity, but the impact of the conflict in the Middle East means people still face rising costs. We need further bold action to protect those most at risk of being trapped in cold, dark homes this winter. 

“The government must commit to funding a reformed energy support scheme for those who need it most, like single parent families and disabled people.”

Latest research from Citizens Advice shows:

  • More than a third of Brits are worried about how they’ll afford their energy bills this winter. 

  • 3.5 million households are currently in energy debt - either behind on their bills or without gas or electricity because they can't afford to top up their prepayment meter.

  • Alarmingly, just over a quarter (28%) of prepayment meter customers lost gas or electricity because they couldn't afford to top up in the last year, with one in five (21%) saying they typically went without power for 12 hours or more. 

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Notes to editors:

  1. Citizens Advice’s research, Hitting the Rationing Wall, is available online.

  2. Citizens Advice is the people’s champion - supporting people across England, Wales and the Channel Islands through: the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities; and the Citizens Advice consumer service.

  3. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free. 

  4. Citizens Advice helped 2.71 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2024-25. And we had 44 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.

  5. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 19,500 trained volunteers, working at over 1,900 locations across England, Wales and the Channel Islands.

  6. Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and postal markets. We provide supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers. 

  7. Citizens Advice consumer service can help with consumer issues like broken or faulty goods, or problems with energy, heat networks or post. You can get advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.