Energy debt levels in Scotland are rising, according to charities funded by the British Gas Energy Trust, which published accounts from their advisers on 5 September 2024. Citizens Advice clients in Scotland have an average of £2,300 of energy arrears, a figure that rises to £3,000 in rural areas1.
Vadims Dzevaltovskis, Project Lead at Aberdeen Citizens Advice Bureau, said the charity was seeing more people year-on-year. Most clients were in emergency credit and many were on prepayment meters, where standing charges continue to accrue even after credit runs out. He said one person had their emergency credit extended to £50, and that fuel voucher use remained high, often repeatedly1.
Ewan Mansley, Energy Support Adviser at THAW Orkney, said debt was becoming more prevalent and potentially higher than previously seen. Some balances were genuine, but others arose from supplier errors: one client was told they owed over £12,000 because of an incorrect meter reading, when they were actually £500 in credit. Genuine debts ran up to £7,000. THAW Orkney reported that a third of the people it supports are in work, and that one in six clients would need to spend all of their income on energy to heat their home adequately through winter1.
The charity said rural households are often hit harder because many do not receive gas, and housing is frequently of poorer quality and less energy efficient1.
"Most of the clients we see are in emergency credit. A lot are on prepayment meters"
Support available in Scotland includes:
| Payment | Amount | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Child Winter Heating Payment | £251.50 | Paid to parents and carers of disabled children and young people under 19 on a qualifying benefit1 |
| Warm Home Discount | £150 | Scheme opens October 20241 |
| Winter Heating Payment | £58.75 | Paid from December 2024 to people on certain benefits1 |
The Scottish Government scaled back Winter Fuel Payment eligibility after the UK Government did so, and has delayed its replacement, the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, until next year1.
Why it matters for households
Arrears of this size sit on a household's account rather than in its control, and prepayment meters turn that debt into a daily constraint: standing charges continue to build even when the meter has run out of credit1. For a home trying to hold down what it spends on energy, a disputed or inaccurate balance is the harder problem, because it can be pursued before anyone has established what is actually owed. The THAW Orkney case, where a £12,000 demand traced back to a wrong meter reading and the household was in fact £500 in credit, shows how far a billing error can run before it is corrected1. Rural homes face an additional structural limit: without a gas connection, and with poorer quality housing stock, there is less scope to cut consumption through cheaper fuel or efficiency alone1.
What happens next
The Warm Home Discount scheme opens in October 2024, and Winter Heating Payments will be paid from December 20241. The Scottish Government's Pension Age Winter Heating Payment has been delayed until next year1. The British Gas Energy Trust notes that its post has not been updated recently and that some details may no longer be accurate1.
Sources1 cited
- Scotland experiences rising energy debt levels - British Gas Energy Trust, britishgasenergytrust.org.uk