UK energy minister tells suppliers to do more on unpaid bills ahead of £2.5bn debt relief scheme

Polly Billington summoned the bosses of Britain's largest energy suppliers to a Thursday roundtable on plans to write off record household energy debts.

• Billington, the minister for energy consumers, told bosses from Octopus Energy, British Gas and EDF Energy to intensify efforts to help households clear unpaid bills before winter.
• The government plans to spend almost £2.5bn to settle the energy debts of about 2.4m of the hardest-hit households, with household energy debt projected to reach £7bn by year's end.
• Suppliers are expected to proactively identify customers under financial strain and offer debt payment plans or referrals to debt advice services.
• Billington said energy debt "weighs heavily on millions of families," adding that its costs are passed on to other billpayers, with the average household paying about £50 a year to service unpaid bills.