Fuel and electricity arrears rose in September 2025

The proportion of StepChange clients responsible for paying dual fuel who had fallen behind on that bill rose to 46% in September 2025, the debt charity reported in its monthly client data report published in September 2025¹. That is two percentage points higher than the 44% recorded in August 2025¹. The share of clients with electricity arrears rose from 26% in August 2025 to 29% in September 2025¹.

Average household bill arrears stood at £4,447 in September 2025, which the charity said is 10% higher than the £4,059 average reported in September 2024¹.

The report covers the demographic and debt information of new clients who first received debt advice in September 2025¹. Among other findings, the proportion of clients in debt due to personal loans rose by three percentage points, from 47% in September 2024 to 50% in September 2025¹. Three in five clients, or 60%, were in employment as of September 2025, a fall of two percentage points from 62% in August 2025¹. The most selected main reason for debt in September 2025 remained a lack of control over finances at 18%, closely followed by the cost of living increase at 17%; the charity said these reasons were also the most common in September 2024¹.

Source: StepChange monthly client data report, September 2025¹

Why it matters for households

The figures describe a specific group: people who contacted StepChange for debt advice for the first time in September 2025, not the UK population as a whole¹. For those households, energy debts are common rather than exceptional, with close to half of dual fuel payers behind on that bill and more than a quarter behind on electricity¹.

The arrears figures are a snapshot of new clients in one month, so they show the position of people seeking help, not a count of all households in arrears. The charity reports the August 2025 comparisons for dual fuel and electricity, and the September 2024 comparison for average household bill arrears, so the direction of travel differs by measure and period¹. Average household bill arrears of £4,447 in September 2025 were 10% above the £4,059 average a year earlier¹.

Energy bill arrears sit alongside other debts for these clients. Half were in debt due to personal loans, up from 47% a year earlier, and 60% were in employment, down from 62% in August 2025¹. More on how energy and water bill arrears are treated, and on debt generally, is set out in the site's guides.

What happens next

StepChange publishes this report as part of a monthly series detailing client data, and says the September 2025 edition is the latest in that series¹. No further dated steps were reported.