British Gas boss warns the worst is yet to come for energy debt as winter is set to herald another season of high bills

The worst is still to come for energy debts, the boss of British Gas has warned, as the country gears up for another winter of high bills.

Despite global energy prices cooling in recent months, household bills are still nearly double the levels consumers paid before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when gases prices first rocketed.

And after a year of spiralling mortgage costs and rising everyday expenses hitting consumer’s pockets, Centrica CEO Chris O’Shea said even bleaker times are ahead.

He told Bloomberg: ‘My worry is that the worst is still to come.

‘We are seeing direct debits being cancelled. We are seeing people struggling.’

Although the government stepped in to protect Britons who were struggling last winter, this support ended earlier this year.

Centrica CEO Chris O’Shea said even bleaker times are ahead

Centrica has previously called on the government to do more to help those struggling with their bills (stock image)

Figures obtained by energy regulator Ofgem reveal that energy debt has reached a record high of £2.6 billion – putting pressure on suppliers.

And consumers face further misery as Ofgem considers adding a one-time adjustment to the energy price cap next April to reduce the risk of suppliers going bust.

It warned that if it did not act, consumers could face even higher costs and poorer standards of service if suppliers collapse because of the debt piles.

Mr O’Shea, who heads up the country’s biggest energy supplier that serves around 7.5 million customers, said: ‘The regulator has a difficult situation, but they’ve created this market.

‘If everybody is losing money in the market, the market will collapse.’

Read more: Rishi Sunak ‘could strip wealthier pensioners of winter fuel payments’ as trade-off for keeping triple-lock on state pensions

Earlier this month the price cap set by Ofgem was reduced to £1,834 a year, the first time it dropped below the £2,000 mark since April 2022.

Yet it is forecast to jump again to £1,976 in the first three months of next year, according to analysts at Investec.

This is a monthly bill of roughly £226 from the New Year.

It comes as a new survey shows that one in five workers (21 per cent) workers said that free heating had encouraged them to commute into the office more often, rising to 24 per cent for those aged 65 and over.

Centrica has previously called on the government to do more to help those struggling with their bills.

But in July, the company came under pressure as it revealed that earnings at its retail supplier business soared by nearly 900 per cent.

Angry politicians described the profits as ‘actually sickening’ and ‘unearned’, while campaigners said it was a ‘further sign of Britain’s broken energy system’.

Earlier this year Centrica chief executive Chris O’Shea was given a £4.49 million pay package, which included £790,000 in pay plus £3.7million in bonuses.

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