Tackling energy debt when moving home

Details of outcome

We received responses from 47 stakeholders, including energy suppliers, consumer groups, charities and individuals. 

We have carefully considered the feedback and the potential impact of this policy proposal on consumers and the marketplace. We also held a series of stakeholder working group sessions to collaborate with suppliers, consumer groups, and charities to co-crate a new approach to the supplier home-moves process. 

Based on this, our next steps are to consult on a bespoke guidance for the home-moves process. This will enable Ofgem to standardise key elements of the home-moves journey where we believe the most risk of harm to consumers will require careful mitigation. It will also provide the opportunity to standardise the outcomes we expect to see for consumers throughout this journey and clarify guidance for suppliers. This consultation will be published later on this summer. 

Read the full outcome

Original consultation

Call for input description

In Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), consumers can usually use energy straight away when they move into a new home.

Some consumers may even have access to energy for a long period of time without being known to the energy supplier. For example, they might not have set up their own account yet or let the energy supplier know that they have moved in.

This may increase the risk of consumers getting into debt without them realising it. They may find out they are in debt after a few weeks or even months living at the property.

We want to understand the risks and benefits of introducing changes to the home moving process to tackle debt. We also plan to:

• develop an industry wide framework
• create a working group with people from the energy industry

Who should respond

We welcome responses from anyone with an interest in the energy supplier home moving process, including:

• consumer groups
• charities
• electricity and gas suppliers
• energy consumers