UK Government update on energy with rent

Last year the UK Government opened a call for evidence on domestic consumers with non-domestic energy supply contracts – including energy with rent arrangements. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has now provided an update on the responses received.

The call for evidence aimed to build a greater understanding of the impact of these arrangements on consumers, with a focus on their ability to access government support, impacts of energy debt and disconnection, access to meters and billing structures potentially leading to high energy prices. As well as social housing tenants with an energy with rent arrangement, other consumers falling into the scope of the exercise include care home residents, caravan site and park home residents, and heat network customers.

After reviewing submissions, the UK Government has noted that many households feel that they have a lack of control and transparency over their energy supply. However, it has also been acknowledged that there are clear reasons for some of the arrangements to be in place, for example if there is only one mains supply for a building or if a resident has agreed to an all-inclusive rent. For these reasons, no changes have been proposed in response to the exercise, although continued engagement with Ofgem has been proposed so that consumer issues can continue to be highlighted and addresses.

The full details of the call for evidence can be found at: Domestic consumers with non-domestic energy supply contracts: call for evidence - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)