Britain's energy regulator Ofgem announced plans on Thursday to tackle 4.4 billion pounds ($6 billion) of debts built up by customers, which are driving up bills for millions of households. Unrecovered energy debt is spread across all consumer bills, adding 52 pounds, or around 3%, to the current price cap of 1,755 pounds a year for average use. Ofgem said it will shortly publish a debt relief scheme which seeks to write off 500 million pounds of debt, helping around 195,000 of the most vulnerable customers. The scheme would be funded by a levy on other bill payers and is expected to add around 5 pounds to bills for one year from 2027/28, Ofgem said.

"We must protect consumers by striking the right balance between making sure those that can pay are supported to do so, and targeting suppor

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