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< Airtricity gives way after "green" claims challenge | Green light for biomass and waste burning power plant at Tilbury >
Domestic energy disconnections drop by 30 per cent
Disconnections of domestic energy customers fell by 30 per cent in 2008 according to a report published today by energy regulator Ofgem.
This showed there were 5,890 domestic energy disconnections in the UK during 2008 compared with 8,384 in 2007. A decade ago the number of customers disconnected was running at 30,000 a year.
The report indicated that the number of gas customers disconnected for debt fell last year by 48 per cent to 2,999. Electricity disconnections for debt rose by nine per cent to 2,891 however the rate of increase for electricity disconnection slowed significantly during 2008 compared with previous years.
Ofgem has noted that at the end of 2008, some 1.3 million electricity customers and 0.8 million gas customers were repaying a debt - a three per cent reduction for electricity and a two per cent increase for gas compared with the end of 2007.
Maxine Frerk, Ofgem's director of governance, consumer and social affairs, said: "The fall in total disconnections and reducing numbers in debt is encouraging and shows our previous guidance has had benefits.
"We will be reviewing suppliers' debt practices over the coming months to ensure that they are responding appropriately and helping their customers to avoid debt where possible and to manage their debts sensibly where they arise."
Audrey Gallacher, energy expert at Consumer Focus, welcomed the news that the number of people who get cut off from their energy supplier was starting to fall.
"However, we have also seen a rise in the levels of debt, with more consumers than ever owing more than £600 to their supplier" she said. "Customers who have been put on pre-payment meters to recover debt are also struggling to afford the high repayment levels imposed on them by some suppliers".
Utility Week is running its third annual consumer debt conference on 11 November, visit: http://www.utilityweekevents.com/consumerdebt09 for more details.
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