Citizens Advice response to ESNZ Committee’s Inquiry on energy bills for domestic customers

Citizens Advice response to ESNZ Committee’s Inquiry on energy bills for domestic customers 257 KB

It has now been two years since the invasion of Ukraine triggered a significant rise in the cost of energy. Energy bills are currently 50% higher than 2021 - leaving millions of households struggling to safely heat and power their homes.

Rising standing charges have come under scrutiny as a way of reducing energy bills, but reallocating this money between standing charges and unit rates does not address our overall concerns around affordability, while also creating unfair outcomes.

We support the levelising of costs between Direct Debit and PPM consumers as some consumers will not have made a choice to be on a PPM, and they may be vulnerable. However we do believe that there should be some economic incentive for consumers to choose the most efficient billing method.

Overall, the most effective way to address inequalities in energy billing is for the Government to bring forward a targeted package of bill support for low-income households.