Can my gas or electricity be disconnected in winter?

The protection is strongest between 1 October and 31 March. In that period a supplier must not disconnect a domestic property with unpaid charges where the occupants include a person under the age of 2 or over the age of 75, someone disabled, terminally ill or chronically sick³. Households at State Pension age living alone, or only with other pensioners or children under 18, are also protected from disconnection between those dates¹.

What remains is dependence on the supplier and the grid. A household cannot generate its way out of a debt dispute, and the rules govern the supplier's conduct, not the household's exposure to rising unit rates. The figures below set out the position as it stands.

What suppliers can and cannot do when you owe money

The starting point is that energy companies must help customers who are in need and are not allowed to cut them off⁶. Under rules set by Ofgem, a supplier must work with a household on a payment plan that it can afford². Suppliers cannot disconnect any customer without first taking all reasonable steps to help them repay their debts, and cannot cut off supply for certain vulnerable consumers⁷.

If no agreement is reached, the process becomes formal. A supplier can apply to a court for a warrant to enter the home to disconnect the supply, and must send a notice telling the household that it is applying¹. That is the point at which the dispute leaves the supplier's own procedures and enters a legal process.

There are also statutory restrictions that sit above supplier policy. During a moratorium period, a creditor or its agent must not take steps to disconnect a debtor's premises from a supply of gas unless the debtor had taken the supply illegally, and the same restriction applies to electricity⁸. For domestic premises with unpaid charges, a supplier must not disconnect at any time where the occupants include a person with a medical condition meaning they need to receive, or may need to receive, a supply of heating or hot water throughout the year³.

Your supplier must agree a payment plan you can afford

Suppliers can agree a payment plan, a payment break or a reduction, review payments and debt repayments, and give access to hardship funds¹. That menu is the practical alternative to disconnection, and it is available where a household is struggling to pay for energy or thinks it may get into difficulty⁵.

Between 1 October and 31 March each year, a supplier must offer support before disconnecting in certain situations, for example helping to set up a payment plan, if someone in the household has reached State Pension age, is disabled, or has a long-term physical or mental health condition¹. The winter window therefore does two things at once: it restricts the cut-off itself, and it triggers a duty to offer help first.

The affordability test matters. The requirement is a plan the household can afford, not simply a plan the supplier prefers². Where a household cannot meet a proposed figure, the rules point back to negotiation rather than to enforcement.

Prepayment meters: the rules suppliers must follow

A prepayment meter is the usual substitute for disconnection. It is rare to be disconnected, because the supplier will usually offer to install a prepayment meter instead¹. But a prepayment meter carries its own risk: when credit runs out, supply stops, which is self-disconnection¹⁰. Even voluntary self-disconnection, where households try to use as little energy as possible to spend less, is a recognised form of unsafe energy rationing¹¹.

A supplier can install a prepayment meter without permission where a household is building up energy debt and other ways of recovering that debt have not worked⁴. Installing one with the consumer's explicit consent must be explored before disconnection, which should be an absolute last resort¹³. Authorised persons must monitor prepayment meter usage on an ongoing basis to identify consumers who might be self-disconnecting³.

Debt levels: why disconnection risk is rising

The pressure behind these rules is the size of the debt. Ofgem figures show combined domestic energy debt and arrears rose 5% from £4.55bn to £4.79bn between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, up 15% on Q1 2025⁵. A separate independent guide puts total domestic energy debt at half a billion pounds as of April 2026¹⁴.

The human consequence is measured in disconnections that never appear in official statistics because the household switches itself off. One estimate projected that over 2 million people would disconnect because they could not afford to top up by the end of winter¹⁵. Age UK has said energy support has failed to keep pace with rising energy costs and is insufficient for the scale of the financial challenge¹⁶.

Citizens Advice has warned that delays to a debt relief scheme risk debt enforcement, prepayment meter disconnection, energy rationing and deepening debt¹⁷. It has also recommended that Ofgem closely monitor disconnection and the forced installation of prepayment meters, which can lead to disconnection¹⁸.

Ofgem's role: monitoring, investigations and enforcement

Ofgem monitors energy suppliers and network operators closely to make sure they meet the rules set out in licences, regulations and law, provide good customer service, and reply quickly to customers⁷. Where non-compliance is suspected, its formal enforcement powers can include opening investigations, making orders and imposing penalties¹⁹.

The regulator's remit also covers scheme administration. For the Energy Company Obligation, its obligations include calculating suppliers' obligations and tracking performance against them, processing notifications, auditing suppliers, counter fraud, and reporting to the Secretary of State at DESNZ²⁰. Supplier compliance queries on ECO go to a dedicated address, ecogbis_compliancequeries@ofgem.gov.uk²¹.

What Ofgem does not do is resolve an individual household's dispute. It states that it does not directly get involved with complaints about energy suppliers or network operators, including heat network suppliers and operators, and does not investigate individual disputes⁷. The Energy Ombudsman provides an independent service, separate to Ofgem, for problems with an energy supplier, an energy broker, a network operator or a heat network supplier⁸. The Ombudsman can also consider complaints about Feed-in Tariffs where obligated electricity suppliers do not follow the rules set by Ofgem²². The Ombudsman has said it will respond to the DESNZ Review of Ofgem call for evidence, which also looks at the Ombudsman itself²³.

Where to get help: Citizens Advice and other contacts

Citizens Advice offers information and support on a range of topics, including struggling to pay bills, problems with an energy supplier or supply, saving energy at home, and getting a better energy deal¹. Its free consumer service can help people in England or Wales with problems about energy bills or supply⁷. The consumer service may refer a household to the Extra Help Unit where support is needed with a difficult or urgent complaint, where the household cannot deal with the supplier alone due to personal circumstances, is considered vulnerable, or is at risk of being disconnected⁷.

For winter home heating advice, the published helpline number is 0808 223 1133, and a separate Energy Saving Advice Service line is available on 0300 123 1234²⁴. The online energy chat is not available on public holidays²⁵. In Northern Ireland, NI Energy Advice offers free advice and support on saving energy at home, including advice about energy grants²⁶.

Deemed contracts and their terms

A deemed contract applies where there is no supply contract or accepted alternative supply contract in place, for example when a consumer has moved into a heat network property and consumes heating, hot water or cooling with no supply contract in place³. A deemed contract may also exist where an existing contract comes to an end but the customer continues to use energy²⁷.

Guidance states that a deemed contract should not provide for any fixed term period or any termination fee payable by the consumer, and no form of notice should be required before entering into a supply contract in place of the deemed contract¹³. That matters for households on heat networks, where the deemed contract is often the only arrangement in place.

Northern Ireland

The rules differ in Northern Ireland. Under Article 27, if remedial works specified in a notice by the distributor are not carried out by the end of the specified period, the distributor may disconnect or refuse to connect the supply²⁸. That is a separate framework from the Great Britain supplier licence conditions, and households there deal with a different regulator and advice landscape.