Not being able to afford to heat or power your home can be very worrying and stressful. It’s important to continue paying these bills and there's help available from your supplier if you’re struggling before you get into debt. Get in touch before you miss a payment and find out how they can help you, as well as other ways to get back on track.
What’s in this guide
- What help can my supplier give me to keep up with energy payments?
- Support with energy supply and bills if you’re vulnerable
- How to find out who your supplier is
- Check if you qualify for extra government help
- Make sure you’ve claimed everything you’re entitled to
- If you’ve missed a payment on your gas or electricity bill
- What to do if your energy supplier goes bust
- When to get debt advice
- Extra support if you’re struggling financially and with your mental wellbeing
What help can my supplier give me to keep up with energy payments?
If you’re worried about missing gas or electricity payments, contact your supplier first. They must work with you to agree a payment plan that suits you.
These include things like:
- reviewing your bill and agreeing more affordable payments
- giving you a payment break
- reducing how much you pay to give you a chance to catch up
- giving you longer to repay what you owe
- access to charitable grants or hardship funds.
Join our Facebook group
Join our private Debt Support Community Facebook group to help give you new ideas to tackle debts and keep you motivated.
Support with energy supply and bills if you’re vulnerable
Your gas or energy supplier must give you extra support if you’re vulnerable. For example, if you:
- have a disability or long-term health condition
- have mental health needs
- have hearing or sight loss
- are pregnant or have children under the age of five
- are recovering from an injury or just released from hospital
- don't speak or read English well or have other communication needs
- have reached State Pension age.
There could be other reasons why you might be vulnerable, so if you’re not sure you can ask your supplier.
It’s a good idea to sign up to your supplier and network operator’s Priority Services RegisterOpens in a new window who look after your gas supply.
The Citizens Advice Extra Help Unit
If you’re vulnerable and having trouble with your bills, you can use the Citizens Advice Extra Help Unit. They can help with bill disputes or other problems paying your bill.
Here’s how to get a referral:
If you live in England or Wales
Call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline free on 0808 223 1133 Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.
If you have hearing loss, you can use Relay UK to call the consumer helpline using an app or textphone. Find out how to use Relay UK
To contact a Welsh-speaking adviser call: 0808 223 1144.
You can also fill in an online energy enquiry form
If you live in Scotland
You can use Advice Direct Scotland’s service on the energyadvice.scot website or call them free on 0808 196 8660.
Contact your local Citizens Advice
If you live in Northern Ireland
You can get NI Energy Advice on the NI Housing Executive (Opens in a new window) website or call them free on 0800 111 4455.
If you’re on a pre-payment meter
If you’re worried about topping up your pre-payment meter, Citizens Advice has more information if you can’t afford to top up your prepayment meter
They offer advice on how you can get temporary credit from your supplier and the best ways to pay it back.
In Northern Ireland, you can get information at power ni about emergency credit if you’re on a prepayment meter(Opens in a new window)
How to find out who your supplier is
Find out who your gas or electricity supplier is, and their contact details, on a recent energy bill.
Find your supplier at UK Power NetworksOpens in a new window
If you live in Northern Ireland, find your supplier at Northern Ireland Electricity NetworksOpens in a new window
Try contacting your supplier online. If you don’t get a reply, it’s worth chasing it up.
Get ready to switch
Energy prices are very high. From 1 April 2025 the Ofgem energy price cap is £1,849 for a typical household. This will change on 1 July 2025. In Northern Ireland, the Utility Regulator checks that prices charged are fair.
There are now a few fixed deals available at the price cap or slightly below it, so keep a close eye on prices. Try using comparison websites and be ready to switch when better deals become available.
Check if you qualify for extra government help
Warm Home Discount Scheme
The Warm Home Discount can give you £150 off your electricity bills each year. If you’re on a low income and getting certain means-tested benefits – including Universal Credit – you might be entitled to it. The discount isn’t available in Northern Ireland, but you might qualify for help to make your home more energy efficientOpens in a new window
The discount can also be used for gas bills instead of electricity, depending on your energy provider. Talk to your supplier to find out.
If you don’t qualify with your current energy supplier, see if you can switch to one where you do. GOV.UK has a list of suppliersOpens in a new window
For most people, the Warm Home Discount is automatically applied if you quality. If you live in a park home, or in Scotland and qualify because of a low income, you’ll need to apply for it. GOV.UK has more details
If you live in Northern Ireland, you can apply for the Winter Fuel Payment on nidirectOpens in a new window
Cold Weather Payment
If the weather gets really cold and you already get some benefits, you might qualify for cold-weather payments worth £25.
Find out more in our blog post Who is entitled to Cold Weather Payments?
Winter Fuel Payment
Other government schemes to help you in 2023/24
Find out more about the Energy Price Cap in our guide What to do if your energy bill is high
If you’ve reached State Pension age, you should qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment of between £100 and £300. This should be paid to you automatically.
Local help to pay energy bills
If you’re going without gas or electricity, your local welfare scheme might help with top-up vouchers.
Some foodbanks also give out voucher top ups if you’re on a pre-payment meter. You’ll need to be referred to a food bank first.
You can also get referrals to foodbanks through your local council and other organisations including:
- local advice centres
- your GP
- support workers
- police.
Local welfare help is given on a case-by-case basis.
- If you live in England, contact your council to see if they have a welfare assistance scheme. Find your local council at GOV.UK (Opens in a new window)
- If you live in Scotland, find out more about the Scottish Welfare Fund on the Scottish Government website (Opens in a new window)
- If you live in Wales, find out more about the Discretionary Assistance Fund on the Welsh Government website (Opens in a new window)
- If you live in Northern Ireland, you can find advice if you're struggling to pay your energy bills on nidirect (Opens in a new window)
- In Northern Ireland, you can find energy saving tips on nidirectOpens in a new window
Make sure you’ve claimed everything you’re entitled to
- First, make sure you get everything you’re entitled to.
- If you’re struggling with money and want to find out what you might be entitled to, use our Benefits Calculator.
If you’re facing higher living costs, find out about extra sources of income and support in our section Help with the cost of living
If you’ve missed a payment on your gas or electricity bill
If you’ve only missed one payment and don’t have any other debts, talk to your supplier as soon as you can.
The websites below have advice on what you need to do, the action your supplier can take and why it’s important to clear any gas or electricity arrears as soon as you can:
Find other financial support
Use the Lightning Reach tool to check whether you could claim extra grants or financial support if you're living on a low income. In just 15 minutes you can find out how to apply for funding from charities, your local council and other organisations.
Create your Lightning Reach profileOpens in a new window
What to do if your energy supplier goes bust
While it’s rare for a big energy supplier to go bust, lots of small energy companies have failed due to the high price of wholesale gas.
Find out more about what your next steps should be in our guide What to do if your energy bill is high
If this happens, the ‘Ofgem safety net’ makes sure you’re not left without energy.
The safety net moves you onto a new deal with a new energy supplier automatically.
The deal is chosen using a competitive process and might be slightly more than your previous tariff. You can end your new deal or move to a different supplier whenever you want.
Find out more about what to do if your energy supplier goes bust at Ofgem (Opens in a new window)
If you owe money to a supplier that has gone bust
If you were in debt to your old supplier, you’ll still have to pay what you owe but might have to pay it to your new supplier. Wait for your new supplier to contact you.
If you were in credit with your energy company, the same applies: you’ll get the money back, but you should wait for your new supplier to contact you.
Find out more about what you can do if your account is in debt or in credit when your supplier goes bust, at Citizens Advice (Opens in a new window)
When to get debt advice
If you’ve already missed more than one payment can't come to an agreement with your supplier, it’s best to get advice as soon you can, especially if you’ve got other debts as well.
Have you missed a payment?
Use our Debt advice locator tool to find free and confidential debt advice online, over the phone or near to where you live.
Extra support if you’re struggling financially and with your mental wellbeing
Picking up the phone and talking about your money problems can be hard when you’re struggling with your mental health. But it’s worth getting in contact with your bank, building society, lender or whoever you owe money to, to discuss your options.
