One in three Australian households have missed an electricity bill payment in the past year and one in 10 have skipped three or more, largely because they could not afford to pay, new research shows.

"Very worrying numbers of people are making terrible sacrifices to pay their bills": Oliver Derum. Credit:Kirk Gilmour

As soaring energy prices squeeze family budgets, consultancy firm Ernst and Young found among those who missed a bill, 60 per cent could not afford to pay, 32 per cent had forgotten to pay, and 7 per cent had disputed it.

However, the alarming figures released on Monday are part of a report pitched at energy retailers seeking to expand their customer base and boost on-time payments, as families increasingly struggle with higher bills.