Energy suppliers are sitting on as much as £3 billion of households’ money, according to new research. Uswitch.com’s latest analysis found that the average UK household could have nearly £200 in credit with their supplier.
It comes as a credit is expected to be £179 million higher than last year, potentially due to a milder winter than expected and direct debits not changing as quickly as energy rates. Consumers typically leave winter with little to no credit, as it is used up during the colder months, and therefore start rebuilding credit levels during the spring and summer, when energy usage is typically lower.
However, research shows that 16 million households have a credit with their energy supplier at the end of this winter. Uswitch noted that households on fixed deals are most likely to be in credit at this time of year, with around two-thirds in the positive, compared with only half of those on standard variable tariffs.
Over one in 10 consumers have balances of £300 or more, while 4% have balances of £500 or more with their energy provider.
John Routledge, of Lewes, East Sussex, was able to build up more than £1,000 in energy credit by setting his direct debit high, as he relied on electric heaters before the installation of solar panels and a heat pump.
Mr Routledge’s credit has since dropped to below £700, with him planning to withdraw around half of it and save the rest for higher winter bills
He said: “We relied on electric heaters when we first moved in two years ago, so we set the direct debit quite high. After installing a heat pump and solar panels, our usage has dropped a lot, so I feel more confident about our bills.
“I’m thinking of reclaiming part of that, but I’ll keep some as a safety net since energy prices are so volatile, especially with winter bills and the price cap changes being so hard to predict.”
Three in 10 households with credit intend to ask for some or all of it to be refunded. Nearly two-thirds of households with credit plan to leave the money with their supplier to try to reduce their monthly payments.
With likely price increases on the horizon, this could save millions of households hundreds of pounds on their energy bills.