Unpaid energy bills: can your electricity be cut off in winter?

Contact your supplier while there is still time to agree affordable support.

The answer in 2 lines. England has no universal winter ban on disconnection for unpaid electricity bills. Specific winter protections apply, especially to certain households where someone has reached State Pension age. Suppliers must treat disconnection as a last resort and consider help with repayment. Running out of credit on a prepayment meter is a separate risk: do not assume winter protections will keep the meter on automatically. Contact your supplier promptly, explain your household's needs and ask for an affordable arrangement. Existing debt remains payable even where disconnection is prohibited.

The first steps

Contact your supplier using your bill's details. Ask for an affordability review, a manageable repayment arrangement and information about hardship support.
Explain who lives at home: mention pension age, disability, long-term illness, children and any dependence on electrical medical equipment. Ask for this information to be recorded.
Get independent help: open Citizens Advice's England arrears guide and follow its adviser link if you cannot agree a workable solution.

Stop: danger

Electricity needed for medical equipment: tell your supplier immediately if your supply has stopped or credit is running out, and follow the equipment provider's emergency instructions.
Meter interference: never bypass a meter or try to reconnect a disconnected supply yourself. Contact the supplier for a safe resolution.

Who has winter protection?

Between 1 October and 31 March, your supplier cannot disconnect you for debt if you have reached State Pension age and live alone, or live only with other people of State Pension age or children under 18.

Suppliers must also take all reasonable steps during winter to avoid disconnecting households that include someone of pensionable age, someone disabled or someone with a chronic illness. These protections are not identical. Use Citizens Advice's disconnection guide to check your circumstances and follow its pension-age checker link if needed.

Ask for a plan you can actually maintain

Prepare details of your income, essential spending, current energy use and other debts. Explain why the proposed payment is unaffordable and ask for it to be reviewed. Keep the current-use payment and the debt repayment clearly identified.

Use Ofgem's energy-bill support guidance as a checklist when speaking to your supplier: ask about payment reviews, a possible payment break and hardship funds. Request written confirmation of the agreed arrangement and what happens if your circumstances change.

What not to do

Ignoring warning letters or court paperwork because it is winter.
Agreeing repayments that leave too little for food, housing or ongoing energy use.
Assuming winter protection cancels the debt or stops a prepayment meter running out of credit.

If you cannot afford to top up

Tell your supplier immediately that you cannot afford credit. Ask how to activate emergency credit and whether additional support credit is available. Credit normally has to be repaid, so discuss repayment at the same time.

Follow Citizens Advice's prepayment steps to check emergency support and whether prepayment remains safe and practical for your household. Ask your supplier to reassess the payment method if your health, access needs or inability to top up make it unsuitable.

Where to ask for financial help

Check GOV.UK's energy-bill support page for current benefit-related help and other support. Follow the relevant eligibility links rather than assuming you qualify or relying on an old payment amount.

For local assistance, enter your postcode in GOV.UK's council finder, then ask the council about crisis support and help with energy costs. Availability depends on your circumstances and the local scheme. If you receive benefits, GOV.UK's deductions guidance explains paying certain bills and debts through benefits; discuss suitability before agreeing.

Good to know

Some suppliers offer additional voluntary protections. Ask yours to confirm which commitments cover your household.
A smart meter does not remove disconnection safeguards: remote disconnection still requires the supplier to follow the relevant process.
These steps cover England. Wales and Scotland share the main energy regulator but support schemes differ; Northern Ireland has separate regulation.

Illustrative example: in Sheffield, Aisha receives a warning about arrears. She explains her long-term health condition, sends an income-and-spending summary and requests lower repayments. She also asks the council about crisis support and keeps copies of the supplier's response rather than assuming winter alone protects her.

A made-up story, for illustration.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on 4 November 2026, for England. Confidence: high for the absence of a universal winter ban, the specified winter protections and routes to repayment and prepayment support; medium for financial assistance, which depends on eligibility and local availability. No grant amount or guaranteed award is stated.