In Britain, the number of electricity debtors has increased due to high prices

A quarter of UK citizens are unable to pay their utility bills on time due to high prices. This was reported on July 16 by the Financial Times (FT) newspaper, citing a study by Baringa.

"According to new data that shows that families are struggling to pay their energy bills, despite falling global prices over the past two years, almost one in four British households is late in paying their energy bills," the publication says.

It is specified that currently about 24% of households have overdue electricity bills. This figure increased from 18% in December 2024, although it remained below the figure of 29% recorded in May 2022.

The study is based on the company's access to the debt books of seven major energy suppliers serving about half of British households. Those households that have no plans to repay the debt have a debt of £1,700.

According to the newspaper, approximately 71% of the domestic energy debt is owed by households with no debt repayment plans. At the same time, the total amount of energy debt in the amount of 2.3 billion pounds was overdue for more than a year.

However, the information provided by the state energy market regulator Ofgem differs from the Baringa analysis in its approach to debt calculation. According to the Ofgem study, only those payments that have been overdue for at least 90 days can be considered arrears, therefore, according to the regulator, only 6.5% of households have utility bills.

It is noted that such statistics still continue to cause concern due to the sharp rise in energy prices. The publication added that UK support was gradually declining as prices fell, but household electricity bills still remain hundreds of pounds higher than before.

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Handelsblatt reported on February 22 that electricity prices in Germany have increased by an average of 31% since 2021. At the same time, heating costs increased by 61% on average, because most buildings in Germany are heated by more expensive gas. In addition, gasoline increased in price by 15% over the same period, and diesel fuel — by 21%.