Energy bills rise presents ‘a risk to health – and life – this winter’

• Price cap set to rise 2% tomorrow (1 October)
• New polling by fuel poverty charity National Energy Action finds three-quarters of those with a heart condition say they are likely to ration their heating
• And a third of prepayment meter clients say they have found themselves without energy at least once in the last 12 months

Even before energy bills rise tomorrow, new polling from National Energy Action with YouGov² finds that people with health conditions expect to ration their heating this winter and many prepayment meter households have run out of credit at least once in the past 12 months.

The energy price cap is rising 2% (around £35 a year for a typical household³) from tomorrow (1 October). This means the energy bill for a typical household will be £1,755 a year, almost £500 higher than it was in October 2021, before the energy crisis. As well as this, energy debt continues to grow, with Ofgem statistics from last week showing total energy debt has risen to a record £4.43bn⁴.

New polling by National Energy Action from YouGov shows:

• 71% of GB adults with a heart condition and 64% of those with asthma say they are likely to ration their heating this upcoming winter.

• Six in 10 (58%) of GB adults say they are likely to ration their heating this upcoming winter, which is an increase of nine percentage points when compared to National Energy Action’s polling in January 2025.

• 38% of GB prepayment meter customers say they have found themselves without credit on their prepayment meter and unable to access any heating or power when they needed it at least once in the last 12 months. This is an increase of 13 percentage points when compared with National Energy Action’s polling in January 2025

National Energy Action Chief Executive Adam Scorer says, ‘Unaffordable energy bills present a risk to health – and life – this winter. These findings indicate that some of the most vulnerable people are already struggling and, justifiably, extremely worried about the coming winter. Self-disconnecting from your heat and power is an act of desperation, becoming even more serious as the weather gets colder. No household should be in this situation in the UK in 2025, but many are.

‘Household energy debt is at monstrous levels. Ofgem’s plans to help people out of debt are welcome, but need to go much further. Energy bills are rising, debt levels are rising, fears for the coming winter are rising. The Warm Homes Plan needs to provide this certainty for the long term.’

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. National Energy Action (NEA), is the national fuel poverty charity, working across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to improve the lives of people in fuel poverty. We directly support people with energy and income maximisation advice, and we advocate on issues such as the current energy crisis and the need to improve the energy efficiency of our homes. See: www.nea.org.uk.
2. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,443 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 25 – 26 September 2025.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
3. Ofgem estimates the typical household in England, Scotland and Wales uses 2,700 kWh of electricity and 11,500 kWh of gas in a year.
4. Consumer energy debt has reached £4.43 billion, three-quarters of which is arrears with no payment plan https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/data/debt-and-arrears-indicators
5. Ofgem announced plans to tackle the growing impacts of rising debt in the energy system. Under these plans, Ofgem has proposed establishing a fund called the Debt Relief Support Scheme which suppliers would use to either write off debt that is so significant it will never be paid back or help pay off debt by ‘debt matching’ customer payments. As part of the plans, the regulator has also set out proposals to make it easier for consumers to get help from charities and debt support agencies and ensure a consistent approach is taken across the board, to help to limit the risk of unsustainable levels of debt building up in the future once again. https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/press-release/ofgem-confirms-plans-introduce-lower-standing-charge-tariffs

If this goes online, please link to https://www.nea.org.uk/energy-crisis/. We are on Twitter/X: @NEA_UKCharity and Bluesky: @nea.org.uk.