The Energy Security and Net Zero Committee published its fifth report of session 2024-26, Tackling the energy cost crisis, on 29 October 2025, setting out recommendations to government on household and business energy costs1. The report is the first of a two-part inquiry into the cost of energy, launched in February 2025 to assess the causes of, and solutions to, high energy costs in the UK1. The Government has two months to respond1.
The committee's key recommendations include reforming the Warm Home Discount so that it is more responsive to rising wholesale prices and targeted based on household need, introducing a social tariff and an ambitious Energy Debt Relief Scheme, expanding the powers of the Energy Ombudsman so consumers can achieve redress when billing issues occur, and introducing an opt-in energy bills discount scheme for businesses1. The report notes that the social tariff was replaced by the Warm Home Discount in 2011, and that the discount's value has failed to keep pace with the soaring cost of energy1. On debt, it records that Ofgem consulted in December 2024 on a proposed, one-off Energy Debt Relief Scheme1.
The report states that a typical domestic consumer will pay around £1,720 for electricity and gas every year under the Energy Price Cap, against £993 for a typical household in winter 2020-211. It says domestic energy consumer debt reached £4.15bn at the beginning of 2025, the highest since records began1. On standing charges, it notes that Ofgem reforms to cost calculation under the Energy Price Cap in July 2025 cut the typical electricity standing charge by five per cent and the typical gas standing charge by nine per cent compared with the previous cap period, and that Ofgem announced and consulted in February 2025 on requiring every supplier to offer tariffs with low or no standing charges1. It also cites the Targeted Charging Review of 2022-23, which redistributed network costs from the unit rate to the standing charge1.
"Our key recommendations in this Report include reforming the Warm Home Discount so that it is more responsive to rising wholesale prices and targeted based on household need; introducing a social tariff and an ambitious Energy Debt Relief Scheme"
The report also covers the Warm Home Discount's eligibility. It records that in June 2025 the Government announced that all named bill payers receiving certain means-tested benefits in England and Wales would be eligible for the WHD from winter 2025-261. It notes that Ofgem used to set a higher Energy Price Cap for prepayment customers but stopped this in 2024, and that in February 2025 Ofgem announced it would fine suppliers that continue to breach its back billing rules1.
| Measure | Figure given in the report |
|---|---|
| Typical annual dual fuel bill under the Energy Price Cap | Around £1,720 |
| Typical household bill, winter 2020-21 | £993 |
| Domestic energy consumer debt, start of 2025 | £4.15bn |
| Typical electricity standing charge change, July 2025 | Down 5 per cent |
| Typical gas standing charge change, July 2025 | Down 9 per cent |
Why it matters for households
The report frames the current position as an affordability crisis rather than a wholesale price spike alone. It says domestic energy prices are around 75 per cent higher than before the price crisis and that the Energy Price Cap is almost 75 per cent higher than in winter 2020-211. For a household, the practical effect is that the standing charge element of a bill is paid regardless of how much energy is used, so the shift of network costs into standing charges described in the report affects homes that use little gas or electricity as well as those that use a lot1. The committee's proposals on the Warm Home Discount and a social tariff go to how support is targeted and how quickly it responds to wholesale prices, which bears on how far a household's bill is insulated from market movements1. The Energy Debt Relief Scheme proposals concern households already carrying arrears, which the report puts at a record level1. Wider questions about the Energy Price Cap and the balance between unit rates and standing charges remain with Ofgem and government, and the report does not settle them1.
What happens next
The Government has two months from publication to respond to the report1. The committee says a second report will follow, covering wholesale markets, policy costs, network and transmission charges and new technologies, and will consider whether the energy transition is likely to reduce costs, over what timeframe, and how best to address gas setting the price of electricity most of the time1. The report does not give a date for that second report1.
Sources1 cited
- Tackling the energy cost crisis, publications.parliament.uk