One in three working families struggle to pay their energy bills, it has been claimed, as pressure mounts on suppliers to do more to help poorer households move on to the cheapest deals.

Twenty-nine per cent of families do not put on the heating even when the house is cold, said comparison website uSwitch, while two-thirds fear cutting their energy use to save money will affect their family’s health.



“It’s appalling that even families in work are struggling to pay their energy bills,” said uSwitch’s energy expert, Claire Osborne. “Suppliers must play their part by doing all they can to help their customers move to their best deal.”

The energy regulator, Ofgem, backed calls for suppliers to alert customers to cost-saving schemes such as the warm home discount (WHD).

The initiative forces firms with more than 250,000 customers to offer a £140 discount to low-income pensioners and other vulnerable groups, though it has been criticised for long delays in delivering the reduction.

“We want suppliers to engage more actively with customers, particularly those on standard variable tariffs, to help them get a better deal,” said an Ofgem spokesperson.

This week the business minister criticised energy companies amid claims they were profiteering from deals that do not offer good value.

“Customers who are loyal to their energy supplier should be treated well, not taken for a ride, and it’s high time the big companies recognised this,” Greg Clark said. “I have made clear to the big firms that this can’t go on and they must treat customers properly or be made to do so.”

Responding to the uSwitch survey, a spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “This government is on the side of energy customers and providing vital support for people in our community who need it most.

“We continue to support the warm home discount scheme … and are refocusing the ‘energy company obligation’ [a government energy efficiency measure] so it effectively tackles the cause of fuel poverty.”

Frank Field MP has called on the prime minister to protect the ‘vulnerable underbelly of British society’. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

But the energy company First Utility accused the big six suppliers – British Gas, E.ON, npower, SSE, Scottish Power and EDF Energy – of undermining the WHD scheme.



It said 70% of people who get the discount are on expensive standard variable tariffs (SVTs) and are often unaware their supplier offers cheaper deals.

First Utility estimated that 1.5 million vulnerable customers were overpaying by £440m a year, or £300 per household, more than wiping out their WHD benefit.

“This means the £140 WHD payment goes straight back into the big six’s coffers,” said the firm, adding that customers were being “hoodwinked”.

“It’s plain wrong that the poorest and most vulnerable are being charged over the odds for their energy,” said First Utility’s chief executive, Ed Kamm. “We want the government to stop the big six energy companies from taking advantage of the [WHD] scheme at the expense of struggling families.”

Labour MP Frank Field, who is backing First Utility’s campaign, has written to Theresa May urging her to protect the “vulnerable underbelly of British society”, after she highlighted energy costs in her speech at the Conservative party conference.

But one industry insider cast doubt on the wisdom of Field’s suggestion. “It’s simple A-level maths. What happens if everyone goes on the lowest tariff? The lowest tariff goes up.”

British Gas said: “No energy company does more than us to help vulnerable customers, and that included paying the warm home discount as soon as possible to hundreds of thousands of customers.

“We regularly tell our customers if they could switch to a cheaper tariff and thousands of them do. This includes many customers who qualify for the warm home discount.”

But Scottish Power, another big six firm, said it was aware that not enough of the poorest customers were on the cheapest deals and was taking steps to address this.

“We have already identified that more can be done to help warm home discount customers, and we are finalising our plans to take action this winter.”