Citizens Advice will be launching a new debt advice service for energy consumers in England and Wales later this year, with equivalent arrangements available in Scotland.
They have been working on this proposal for some time, responding to the significant increase in people coming to them with energy debt since the energy crisis. Across the board, energy debt has reached record levels — standing at £4.15bn and rising. Ofgem figures show that nearly 2 million households in debt had no arrangement plan in place in March 2025.
Changes now underway are finally beginning to tackle the problem. Alongside Ofgem’s forthcoming debt relief scheme, and the Government’s increase in the number of households eligible for the Warm Home Discount, better access to energy debt advice can play a vital role in moving consumer outcomes in a better direction.
How the new service will transform energy debt advice
For the first time, households and small businesses who contact Citizens Advice’s consumer service helpline about debt to their energy supplier, will be able to access holistic support to help them get their finances back on track. The new Consumer Energy Debt Advice (CEDA) support service will be delivered as a partnership with independent debt advice charities, Money Advice Trust and StepChange, and align with high quality support for people in vulnerable circumstances delivered by the Citizens Advice Extra Help Unit.
This expansion of Citizens Advice’s role in the energy sector recognises that the world has changed for people and the support offer needs to evolve as well.
It is estimated that the new CEDA service will:
- Reduce the human cost involved in problem debt and its effects, valued at £4,300 per person helped
- Reduce the annual cost of bad debt in energy by £2.53 for each GB household when fully mobilised
- Reduce the demand for public services and by Year 3, the service will return £5.61 per GB household to the public purse
The fully mobilised cost of this new service will be just 42p per household each year, meaning it will deliver excellent value for money.