Ban on energy disconnections for vulnerable energy consumers

Vulnerable consumers will be protected from disconnections of their electricity and gas supply.  

Why it’s important

The liberalisation of energy markets led to the appearance of privately-owned energy suppliers. This has often meant more aggressive debt recovery practices with consumers who cannot keep up with their energy bills, often involving the threat of - or actual - disconnection.

Consumers should pay for services that they receive, but suppliers should consider that energy is also an essential service and lack of access to it may endanger people’s health.

This is more of a risk for vulnerable consumers, who need social support, consumer protections and energy advice to make sure they can pay their bills and do not lose access to energy.

What did BEUC do?

BEUC has been highlighting the need to increase consumer protections against energy disconnections since as early as 2001. The number of disconnections rose over the years and intensified during the COVID pandemic, when lockdowns meant a sudden loss of income for millions of people, who were unable to pay their bills. Another example is the energy crisis in 2022-2023, which led to massive increases in bills.

During these crises, BEUC called on European lawmakers to suspend disconnections until the economic situation returned to normal. This led to a joint declaration to protect consumers, signed by BEUC and energy associations and regulators, which was backed by the European Commission.

BEUC also called for  legislative solutions in the revisions of the Gas Directive and the Electricity Market Design.

In late 2023, the European Parliament and the Council reached agreements on these files, requiring EU countries to safeguard vulnerable consumers and those in energy poverty from gas and electricity disconnections.

Consumers will start enjoying these new protections when these rules enter national law (by 2026 at the latest).