British households owe £6 billion ($8.18 billion) in unpaid energy debt and arrears, industry group ​EnergyUK has reported.

Regulator Ofgem is ‌expected to announce this week a 4 per cent increase in its domestic price cap, taking it to a three-year ​high.

EnergyUK presented the updated debt figure in ​a call with journalists ahead ⁠of the price cap announcement and said ​the data represented debt at the end ​of June 2026.

Unrecovered energy debt is spread across all consumer bills and currently adds around £50 a year or ​around 3 per cent to a typical annual bill.

EnergyUK ​said the debt figure is likely to reach £7 billion by ‌the ⁠end of the year without intervention.

Regulator Ofgem has been looking at options to help indebted consumers but a scheme to clear £500 million of ​debt for ​the poorest ⁠customers, which needs government legislation, has stalled.

Wholesale energy prices, which have soared ​this year due to the Iran war, ​are ⁠the largest single factor contributing to the domestic price cap, which is set on a ⁠quarterly ​basis using a formula that ​also reflects suppliers’ network costs and environmental and social levies.