Energy Bills Support

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 29 Nov 2024 Closed: 16 Jun 2025 Parliament page
Beginning in autumn 2021, energy bills began to increase significantly due to factors including increased global demand for gas post-pandemic, and the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on energy markets. Average annual household bills for gas and electricity increased from £1,277 in winter 2021/22 to over £4,000 by the … Read more
3 Recommendations
25 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
3 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 8 events
8 Jan
2026
Correspondence
18 Sep
2025
Report published
4 Sep
2025
Correspondence
17 Jul
2025
Correspondence
10 Jul
2025
Report published
28 Mar
2025
Report published
6 Feb
2025
Oral evidence
6 Feb
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
6 Feb 2025
View on parliament.uk
Ben Golding · Clean Power 2030 Jeremy Pocklington CB · Ministry of Defence Jonathan Mills · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Title HC No. Published Items Response
19th Report - Energy Bills Support HC 511 28 Mar 2025 28 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
28 results
2 Conclusion Acknowledged
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Set out plan by September 2025 for targeting future consumer support, addressing data matching challenges.
The Department would not yet be in a position to provide more targeted support to consumers and so reduce wasteful expenditure. Most of the £44 billion of support was provided through the schemes that were universal in nature, which means … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to review options for better targeting support and improve data use for future schemes, acknowledging this is complex and involves ongoing work with stakeholders to consider options.
HM Treasury
View details
3 Conclusion Accepted
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Develop strategies for next winter to support consumers at greater risk of fuel poverty.
The Department has not done enough to address the challenges of providing financial support to vulnerable consumers in the event of another crisis. The Department reported that between mid–2022 and mid–2023 the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) and Energy Bills Support … Read more
Government Response
The government has consulted on expanding the Warm Home Discount scheme, which is estimated to reach an additional 2.7 million households, and is considering options for better targeting of future bill support.
HM Treasury
View details
4 Conclusion Rejected
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Collect data on supplier performance in advising indebted consumers for use in Ofgem's review.
The Department and Ofgem are not doing enough to ensure people falling into debt with their energy bills receive the advice and support they need from their energy supplier. At the same time as energy prices have risen significantly so … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation, stating Ofgem is better suited to collect and evaluate data on supplier performance in supporting consumers in debt, and it is working with Ofgem on an alternative approach.
HM Treasury
View details
5 Recommendation Accepted
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Set out timetable for rebalancing energy costs and implementing electricity market reform proposals.
We remain concerned that even after the crisis has subsided, UK electricity bills are the highest of the countries providing comparable data to the International Energy Agency. The UK had the highest electricity price out of 25 countries reporting both … Read more
Government Response
The government commits to publishing a decision on the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) by mid-2025 and will provide the Committee with a timetable for implementing the proposals for change once decisions are made.
HM Treasury
View details
6 Recommendation Accepted
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Set out plan for ensuring grid capacity during low renewable generation and improve supply reporting.
The Department has more to do to convince Parliament that it has a robust plan for ensuring security of energy supply to meet increasing demand. The security of energy supply is the highest priority for the Department. Energy demand is … Read more
Government Response
The government and National Energy Systems Operator (NESO) have updated response and communications procedures, including building educational content and reframing communications, and the National Emergency Plan will be updated by DESNZ later in 2025.
HM Treasury
View details
1 Conclusion Accepted
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Committee took evidence on Department's financial support for consumers with energy bills.
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (the Department) on its work to provide financial support to consumers in the light of significant … Read more
Government Response
The government will share overarching lessons learned reports and domestic/non-domestic evaluation reports with the Committee upon their publication in Q3 2025, and will write to the Committee within one month of publication to detail learnings for future energy crises.
HM Treasury
View details
7 Conclusion
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Energy support schemes achieved lower fraud and error rates than pandemic-era programmes.
In designing the energy bills support schemes, the Department drew on lessons learned from support schemes during the pandemic, such as reducing opportunities for fraud by using information from energy suppliers to limit the need to apply for support and … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
8 Conclusion
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Department commissioned evaluations to assess effectiveness of universal energy support schemes.
The Department has commissioned independent evaluations of all of its domestic and non–domestic financial support schemes.15 As part of these evaluations, the Department is reviewing whether approaches like universal support were effective, or if the cost of providing support to … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
9 Conclusion
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Completion of energy support scheme evaluations remains significantly delayed by several months.
Despite it being nearly three years since the energy crisis, the Department has yet to complete all of these evaluations. However, it told us it would be relying on the findings it does have to inform any possible future interventions.17 … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
10 Conclusion
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Current limited support schemes insufficient to shield households from future energy crises.
The Department said it was frustrated that the results of the evaluations would not be available to it sooner.19 Even so, it told us it was confident that it was “ready to deal with whatever happens in international energy markets”, … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
11 Conclusion
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Universal support schemes led to deadweight costs, reducing overall value for money.
Most of the £44 billion of support was provided through schemes that were universal in nature, which means that some people who did not need the support still received it, affecting the schemes’ overall value for money.21 Written evidence we … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
12 Conclusion Acknowledged
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Significant technical challenges impede effective targeting of energy support, particularly income data.
The Department said that even if it had wanted to, it would not have been able to target support at the time of introducing the schemes due to challenges with identifying household income to determine an appropriate level of support.26 … Read more
Government Response
The government says it is taking the opportunity to review options for better targeting of future bill support beyond March 2026, exploring data sharing and data matching to improve the targeting of economic support.
HM Treasury
View details
13 Conclusion Deferred
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Department still lacks solutions for matching income and energy supplier data effectively.
The Department acknowledged that it does not have “a full answer at this stage” to the issues with matching income data with energy supplier data, despite it being almost three years since the spike in energy prices.31 Fair by Design … Read more
Government Response
The government is taking the opportunity to review options for better targeting of future bill support beyond March 2026, and is working with other government departments, energy suppliers, and stakeholders to consider options for improving data sharing and data matching by September 2025.
HM Treasury
View details
14 Conclusion Acknowledged
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Department's poor understanding of non-domestic sector led to untargeted, inequitable support.
The Department acknowledged that it knew less about the non–domestic sector than the domestic sector at the time of the interventions and that this “threw up a number of issues and complexities”.33 It told us that targeting the non–domestic sector … Read more
Government Response
The government says it is taking the opportunity to review options for better targeting of future bill support beyond March 2026, exploring data sharing and data matching to improve the targeting of economic support.
HM Treasury
View details
15 Conclusion
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Energy support schemes partially mitigated, but did not prevent, overall increase in fuel poverty.
The Department reported that from mid–2022 to mid–2023, the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) and Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) prevented around 289,000 households in England from going into fuel poverty.39 However, this was not enough to offset the wider impact … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
16 Conclusion Accepted in Part
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Hard-to-reach households showed low take-up of alternative energy support funding schemes.
Take–up of the energy bills support schemes was lower among harder–to–reach households that did not receive a payment directly from their energy supplier; 41 and may have been affected disproportionately by energy price fluctuations.42 These households did not receive an … Read more
Government Response
The government is considering options for better targeting of bill support schemes and working with other government departments to unlock data to enable targeting support more effectively to those who need help with their energy bills; also expanding Warm Home Discount Scheme.
HM Treasury
View details
17 Recommendation Accepted in Part
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Communication failures hampered support scheme reach to vulnerable households in need
Although the Department worked with local authorities on some of the schemes aimed at households who were harder to reach,44 the low take–up suggests that this approach did not identify all those in need.45 The Department said that it attempted … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to consider better targeting of bill support schemes, including during energy crises, and is working with other departments and stakeholders to improve data use and effectiveness of support, aiming to reach a further 2.7 million households through the Warm Home Discount Scheme.
HM Treasury
View details
18 Conclusion Accepted in Part
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Warm Home Discount scheme excludes high-energy-using vulnerable individuals from vital support
The Department said that the “biggest item of support” available to mitigate high energy prices this winter for vulnerable consumers, mainly those on benefits such as pension credit, is the Warm Home Discount scheme,47 which provides a £150 discount to … Read more
Government Response
The government is considering options for better targeting of bill support schemes and working with other government departments to unlock data to enable targeting support more effectively to those who need help with their energy bills; also expanding Warm Home Discount Scheme.
HM Treasury
View details
19 Conclusion Deferred
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Domestic energy debt has significantly increased, becoming the fastest growing type of consumer debt
Alongside a rise in energy prices, Ofgem statistics from June 2024 show the total owed by domestic consumers for both electricity and gas was over £3.7 billion compared with £1.8 billion at the end of 2021.51 A report by Clear … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees and proposes that Ofgem, as the market regulator, is better suited than DESNZ to collect pertinent information and evaluate the guidance provided to energy customers experiencing debt. They are actively working with Ofgem to refine these processes.
HM Treasury
View details
20 Conclusion Deferred
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Ofgem's proposed energy debt relief scheme faces significant delay until winter 2025
The Department recognised this as a serious issue. It made clear that, because in the first instance consumers facing energy debts should contact their energy supplier, the regulatory regime should that require suppliers to offer “good, accurate and helpful advice” … Read more
Government Response
The department proposes that Ofgem, as the market regulator, is better suited than DESNZ to collect pertinent information and evaluate the guidance provided to energy customers experiencing debt and is working with Ofgem to refine these processes.
HM Treasury
View details
21 Conclusion Deferred
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
UK electricity prices are highest among IEA countries, partly due to environmental levies
The United Kingdom has the highest price (including taxes and levies) for domestic electricity out of 25 International Energy Agency (IEA) countries reporting in 2023. Similarly, the UK has the highest price (including taxes and levies) for industrial electricity out … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees rebalancing is needed and will set out proposals in due course, with a target implementation date of July 2025, but notes the complexity and difficult fiscal environment.
HM Treasury
View details
22 Conclusion Deferred
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Department repeatedly delayed electricity-gas price rebalancing for three years without a timetable
The Department recognised that rebalancing was an important issue, given the ratio of electricity to gas prices was “high compared to many comparative countries” as a “lot of the policy [ … ] and network costs in this country are … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees rebalancing is needed and will set out proposals in due course, with a target implementation date of July 2025, but notes the complexity and difficult fiscal environment.
HM Treasury
View details
23 Conclusion Deferred
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) has been ongoing for three years
Three years ago, in April 2022, the previous government launched its Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) as part of its British Energy Security Strategy. This was the government’s flagship policy to enable a net 59 Q 68; Department for … Read more
Government Response
The government will publish a decision on whether to adopt Zonal Pricing or Reformed National Pricing by mid-2025, and will provide the Committee with a timetable for implementing the proposals for change.
HM Treasury
View details
24 Conclusion Accepted
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
UK's reliance on natural gas results in highest energy bill support in Europe
Analysis from the Office for Budget Responsibility concluded that the size of the government’s financial support for energy bills (relative to Gross Domestic Product) was one of the highest in Europe because of the UK’s reliance on natural gas.69 The … Read more
Government Response
The government secures electricity security via the Capacity Market (CM), assessing capacity annually and securing it in advance, while also addressing the variable nature of renewables by relying on unabated gas and working with the market to understand the capacity provided by nuclear. DESNZ and NESO have worked to update response and communications procedures, and the National Emergency Plan will be updated later this year.
HM Treasury
View details
25 Conclusion Accepted
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Department dismisses concerns over grid supply levels, asserting routine system operation
The Department described energy security and the security of supply as its highest priority. We asked the Department what it thought about concerns, set out in a document published by Net Zero Watch called “Blackout Risk in the GB Grid”, … Read more
Government Response
The government secures electricity security via the Capacity Market (CM), assessing capacity annually and securing it in advance, while also addressing the variable nature of renewables by relying on unabated gas and working with the market to understand the capacity provided by nuclear. DESNZ and NESO have worked to update response and communications procedures, and the National Emergency Plan will be updated later this year.
HM Treasury
View details
26 Conclusion Accepted
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Growing grid demand and intermittent renewables require sufficient flexible generation for stability
Demand on the grid is likely to grow due to the increased demand for electric cars and heat pumps and a rising number of data processing centres, as well as the move to building more new homes.78 In addition, the … Read more
Government Response
The Capacity Market (CM) is the department’s primary mechanism to ensure supply meets demand and delivers electricity security, and the department is focused on maintaining existing flexible capacity to ensure security of supply.
HM Treasury
View details
27 Conclusion
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Government relies on existing nuclear for 2030 clean power amid lifespan uncertainties.
In December 2024, the government published its pathway to a clean power system by 2030.80 We asked the Department what part it expects nuclear to play in the mix of low–carbon energy.81 Given the timescales involved to build new nuclear … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
28 Conclusion
19th Report - Energy Bills Support
Development of small modular nuclear reactors globally faces significant delays.
We asked the Department why it was taking so long to get small modular nuclear reactors “up and going”.85 We also asked how it was going to make sure that a high percentage of the content of a modular nuclear … Read more
HM Treasury
View details
Government Response AI assessment · 20 of 3 classified
Accepted 7
Accepted in Part 3
Acknowledged 3
Deferred 6
Rejected 1
Total 3 recs + 25 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
8 Jan 2026 To committee Letter from the Interim Permanent Secretary at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero relating to the Committee’s Nineteenth Report on Energy Bills Support, 11 December 2025
Parliament page
4 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero relating to the 19th Report of Session 2024-25, Energy Bills Support, recommendations 2 and 3, 01 August 2025
Parliament page
17 Jul 2025 From committee Letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero relating to the Treasury Minute response on Energy bills support, 15 July 2025
Parliament page