Customers across the UK are in £3.2bn worth of debt to energy firms before this winter's price hikes have even hit, a leading industry figure has told Sky News. The chief executive of trade association Energy UK, Emma Pinchbeck, said the number could be even higher than her organisation's statistics state, and the colder months could bring even more problems due to the end of customer support schemes brought in through the energy crisis and a further 'build up of debt'.
She said as a result she was 'confident' a solution could be found and expected 'practical steps' to come from the gathering - though she would not reveal what. However, she pointed to calls from Energy UK itself for a doubling the warm homes discount for the most vulnerable in the short-term, and stronger investment into green technologies to bring prices down in the future.