Energy companies should be doing everything in their power to support struggling customers, says Citizens Advice

Responding to Ofgem’s review into support for vulnerable customers, Gillian Cooper, Head of Energy Policy at Citizens Advice, said:

“Given the enormous pressures facing people this winter, energy suppliers should be doing everything in their power to identify and support struggling customers. 

“Citizens Advice sees day in, day out the heartbreaking consequences when this support falls short. People cutting back on food and essentials to cover energy debts and living in cold and dark homes when they’ve simply run out of money to top up their meter.

“Ofgem is right to hold energy companies to task, it must now ensure this review leads to concrete action.”  

Notes to editors

  1. Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.

  2. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.

  3. We helped 2.4 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2020-21. And we had 40 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.

  4. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 21,000 trained volunteers, working at over 2,600 service outlets across England and Wales.

  5. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.