Ofgem said the average household paying by fixed direct debit now has about £212 sitting in credit in its energy account, a balance that may be refunded or left in place to trim future bills.
The figure covers roughly 17 million homes and comes as energy prices are expected to rise again in July, making the cash held by suppliers more important for households trying to manage what comes next. Last year at the same point, the average balance was £206.
Ben Gallizzi said many households would normally expect to have used most of that credit during the colder months. “More than half of UK households are coming out of the coldest time of year with credit in their energy accounts,” he said, adding that customers should think carefully before asking for all of it back.
That advice matters because more than half of households have come out of winter with surplus money in their accounts, even as suppliers have accumulated more than £3 billion in customer credit balances. Some firms return money automatically, while others require customers to ask, leaving millions to work out whether to wait, claim it or leave it where it is.
Gallizzi advised households to keep around two months’ worth of payments in their accounts to help manage higher winter costs later in the year, and said those with larger balances may prefer to leave part of the credit untouched to soften the effect of future price rises. Ofgem said suppliers must make sure credit balances are reasonable and reflect customers’ actual usage, a standard that will matter more if bills climb again in July.
The unresolved question is not whether households have credit — they do — but which suppliers will hand it back quickly and which will make customers chase it. For millions of homes, that decision now sits between a small immediate refund and a buffer against the next increase.
