Energy Costs to Surge
by Molly Shevlin, CAS energy spokesperson.
This article was first published in The Herald on 30 May 2026.
With energy costs to surge from July, deepening debt will follow.
“My inbox is full of energy debt issues. There’s just so much. People can’t afford to use energy like they used to and they can’t afford to pay arrears.”
In a recent conversation with a group of energy advisers from Scottish CABs, this was the opening remark. It was met with nods of recognition from everyone, the unavoidable reality of working in energy advice today.
My role is to try to influence change, so as global events delivered another blow to a broken energy system, I met with the advisers to get a deeper sense of how things were feeling for them and the people they support. The sense of anxiety about steep increases in the energy price cap from July and beyond was tangible.
For people coming to local CABs, whose budgets are already beyond stretched, ‘tightening belts’ to afford price increases is impossible. And where costs are unaffordable, rising debt will follow.
The depth and scale of energy debt across Scotland is already difficult to comprehend. In the first three months of this year alone, the total energy debt that people brought to CABs was £2.7 million – an average of over £2,800 per household, rising to over £3,200 in rural areas.
Behind these eye-watering numbers are real people.
People like Jane, who is a full-time carer for her disabled daughter and has essential medical equipment in the home. Her sole income is via social security, which isn’t enough to cover their high energy usage.
When she came to her local CAB, Jane’s electricity debt was over £12,000. Her supplier had said that to cover her repayments and ongoing costs, she’d need to pay £250 per week, an impossible amount of money on her budget. With the pressure of caring for her daughter, this has taken a profound toll on Jane’s wellbeing.
And Jane isn’t alone. Across Scotland, people like her spend their days knowing they’re adding to inescapable debt just to meet their essential energy needs.
This is the legacy and ongoing effect of a seemingly endless energy cost crisis.
Ofgem announced its plan for a Debt Relief Scheme in the autumn, with the first phase due to go live early this year. At the time of writing, there has been no meaningful progress. People are still waiting for desperately needed relief.
With every passing day, any benefit of these measures becomes diluted. And the burden of energy debt will worsen as costs surge from July onwards.
There is an opportunity here for meaningful action that will really help people. But it must be urgent and ambitious. The UK Government and Ofgem must work collaboratively to deliver debt relief without any further delay. And to really tackle the problem, the root cause has to be addressed. A serious approach to energy debt has to be underpinned by lasting measures to cut energy costs for the people least able to afford it. The time to deliver a social tariff is now.
With joined-up action to break the vicious cycle of high costs and arrears, a more just and compassionate society is possible. One where everyone can afford the essentials we all need without fear of debt, and no one second guesses the flick of every switch.