Almost two million energy customers across the UK could be entitled to a share of £240m in unclaimed credit, according to the latest figures from Ofgem.
The energy regulator said around 1.9 million household energy accounts were closed over the past five years while still holding positive balances — often when customers moved home or switched suppliers without reclaiming leftover funds.
Ofgem is now urging anyone who has moved in recent years to check whether they are owed a refund. Some may be due just a few pounds, but others could be in line for repayments exceeding £100, it said.
‘You could be due a refund’
Tim Jarvis, Ofgem’s director general of markets, said energy companies were required to return credit to customers under industry rules but often struggled to do so without up-to-date contact details.
“Suppliers work very hard to return money to people when they close an account,” Jarvis said. “But without the right information, they’re stuck. The message is clear – if you’ve moved in the last five years, contact your old supplier, provide your details, and you could be due a refund.”
Price pressures and growing debt
The warning comes as UK households face another challenging winter after Ofgem raised the energy price cap this month.
The cap, which limits how much suppliers can charge per unit of gas and electricity, rose by £35 to £1,755 a year for the average household paying by direct debit. The rise came despite a small drop in wholesale prices over the summer and has renewed fears over energy affordability.
Ofgem has also announced plans to help households on means-tested benefits who have fallen behind on their bills. About 195,000 people with more than £100 in energy debt could see up to £1,200 per account – or £2,400 per dual-fuel home – written off under a new support scheme.
The initiative, expected to cost around £500m, will be funded by a small levy on all energy bills, adding about £5 a year to the average household bill by 2027–28.
A growing crisis
Despite these measures, Ofgem warned that energy debt across the UK has reached a record £4.4bn, fuelled by high prices and stretched household budgets.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that a record number of households were unable to pay their energy bills by direct debit earlier this year because of insufficient funds.
As Jarvis noted, reclaiming unreturned credit is just one part of tackling the crisis: “It’s your money – make sure it gets back to you.”
