Official Statistics

DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker: Energy bills and tariffs, Spring 2025, UK

Published 3 July 2025

The DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker is a nationally representative annual survey of adults (aged 16+) in the UK that tracks public awareness, attitudes and behaviours relating to the policies of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), such as energy and climate change.

This report provides a summary of the headline findings relating to energy bills and tariffs from the Spring 2025 wave of the Tracker, which ran from 17 March and 22 April 2025.

Notes for interpretation of findings

Differences between groups are only reported where they are statistically significant at the 95% confidence interval level.

The annual personal income referred to in the report is a self-reported measure.

The age-related findings are reported using six age groups (16-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65 and over). In some cases, findings across age groups have been combined to describe a general trend, for example ‘between 78% and 88% of people aged 45 and above’ refers to the range of percentages for the three age groups 45-54, 55-64 and 65+.

Two summary self-reported measures are used in this report:

• ‘Awareness’ encompasses all respondents who said they had heard of a particular concept or technology, including those who said ‘hardly anything but I’ve heard of this’, ‘a little’, ‘a fair amount’ or ‘a lot’.
• ‘Knowledge’ encompasses those who said that they know ‘a fair amount’ or ‘a lot’ about a topic.

The findings within this report cover the period between Spring 2022 and Winter 2024. The findings should be viewed in light of the changing energy prices over this period^{[footnote 1]}.

Energy saving and wasting behaviours

Figure 5.1 displays both the longer-term trends in the amount of thought given to saving energy in the home (line chart) and the detailed data on amount of thought for the most recent two waves alongside the baseline (bar chart).

Over the longer-term, fluctuations wave on wave are likely to reflect the volatility of energy prices as mentioned above. The proportion of people giving a lot of thought to saving energy peaked in Spring 2023 (37%) when energy prices were also at their peak; this was then much lower in Summer 2024 (29%) and Spring 2025 (31%).

Between Spring 2024 and Spring 2025, attention paid to energy saving remained stable: 83% said they paid a lot or a fair amount of attention, and 17% said they paid not very much or no attention.

Figure 5.1: Amount of thought given to saving energy in the home (% based on all people), Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Summer 2024, Spring 2025

ENERGSAVE. How much thought, if any, would you say you give to saving energy in your home?

Base: All wave respondents – Spring 2022 (4,367), Spring 2023 (4,399), Spring 2024 (4,082), Summer 2024 (3,641), Spring 2025 (3,406)

Note: On the line chart arrows denote a significant difference between one wave and the next. For the bar chart, significant differences are noted between Winter 2021 and Winter 2024, and between Winter 2024 and Spring 2025.

Analysis by subgroups

The proportion paying a lot or a fair amount of attention to energy saving in the home was higher among the following subgroups:

• People in age groups 25 and over: between 81% and 90% compared with 63% of those aged under 25.
• People living in owner-occupied households: 86% compared with 80% in rented accommodation.
• People in annual personal income bands of £15,000 or more: 86% compared with 79% of those with income of under £15,000.

People were also asked about energy saving and wasting behaviours in the home. In Spring 2025, the proportion citing each of the energy-related behaviours remained consistent with Spring 2024, although compared with the Spring 2022 baseline people were more likely to report energy saving and less likely to report energy wastage behaviours (Figure 5.2).

In Spring 2025, over eight in ten people reported that they at least occasionally washed clothes at 30 degrees or lower (84%) and tried to keep unused rooms at a cooler temperature (82%), while over a quarter said they always did each of these (27% and 29% respectively).

Figure 5.2: Frequency of energy saving behaviours (% based on all people), baseline wave (Spring 2022), and two most recent waves (Spring 2024 & Spring 2025)

ENSAVFREQ. How often, if at all, do you personally do any of the following?  

Base: All wave respondents – Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 /Spring 2024/Spring 2025: Wash clothes at 30 degrees or lower (4,349/4,081/3,406); Try to keep rooms that you are not using at a cooler temperature than those you are using (4,360/4,079/3,407)

In Spring 2025, the reported frequency of energy wasting behaviours remained lower than at the Spring 2022 baseline, although there have been increases in some reported behaviours since Spring 2024 (Figure 5.3).

In Spring 2025, at least half said that they at least occasionally boiled a kettle with more water than needed (66%), left lights on in rooms not being used (58%, up from 55% in Spring 2024) and left heating on when out of the home for a few hours (48%, up from 45% in Spring 2024). Between 2% and 6% said they always did each of these energy wasting behaviours, while between 12% and 24% said that they did these at least quite often.

Figure 5.3: Frequency of energy wasting behaviours (% based on all people), baseline wave (Spring 2022), and two most recent waves (Spring 2024 & Spring 2025)

ENSAVFREQ. How often, if at all, do you personally do any of the following?  

Base: All wave respondents – Spring 2022 / Spring 2024 / Spring 2025: Boil the kettle with more water than you are going to use (4,359/4,085/3,407); Leave the lights on when you are not in the room (4,362/4,083/3,408); Leave the heating on when you go out for a few hours (4,357/44,080/3,405)

Concerns about the cost of energy bills

As with energy saving behaviours, attitudes towards the cost of paying energy bills over time should be viewed in the context of volatile energy prices over the period of tracking, and seasonal differences in energy needs.

Over the longer-term, worry about the cost of energy bills (being very or fairly worried) has declined from 64% in Spring 2022 (when energy prices increased following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022) to 52% in Spring 2025, with the proportion being very worried falling from 29% to 19% over this time. There has been an increase in worry compared to Summer 2024 (48%), however this could be a seasonal effect. This question will be asked again in Summer 2025 to enable a more robust comparison. 

Despite a decline in levels of worry, people remain more likely to report being worried about paying for their bills (52%) than not worried (40%).

Figure 5.4: Level of worry about paying for energy bills (% based on all people), Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Summer 2023, Spring 2024, Summer 2024, Spring 2025

PAYBILLEN. Over the last three months, how worried, if at all, have you been about paying for energy bills (gas/electricity)?

Base: All wave respondents – Spring 2022 (4,369), Spring 2023 (4,408), Summer 2023 (4,003), Spring 2024 (4,081), Summer 2024 (3,640), Spring 2025 (3,412)

Note: On the line chart, arrows denote a significant difference between one wave and the next. For the bar chart, significant differences are noted between Spring 2022 and Summer 2024, and between Summer 2024 and Spring 2025.

Analysis by subgroups

Being very worried about paying energy bills was higher among the following subgroups:

• People in age bands 25 and over: between 17% and 25% compared with 9% of those aged 16 to 24. Being very worried was highest for those in age bands 35 to 54 (25%).
• People living in rented accommodation (29%), particularly social rented housing (33%), compared with those in owner-occupied housing (15%).
• People finding it difficult to get by financially (57%), compared with those living comfortably or doing alright (7%).

Energy bills in the context of other bills

In Spring 2025, when asked to choose which type of expense out of a range of household outgoings respondents were most worried about, energy bills were ranked highest, as in all previous survey waves (Figure 5.5).

However, although it is still the bill people worry about most, in the longer-term the share of people most worried about energy bills has declined (from 58% in Spring 2022 to 42% in Spring 2025) while worry about food and other household essentials and being equally worried about all expenses has increased (food and household expenses: from 8% to 18%; equally worried about all: from 11% to 17%).  

Between Spring 2024 to Spring 2025 perceptions about household bills remained consistent.

Figure 5.5: Worry about energy bills compared with other household bills (% based on all people), Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025

MOSTWORRY. Which ONE of the following bills or expenses are you most worried about?

Base: All wave respondents – Spring 2022 (4,315), Spring 2023 (4,355), Spring 2024 (4,064), Spring 2025 (3,398)

Analysis by subgroups

The proportion who were more worried about energy bills than other types of bills was higher among the following subgroups:

• People living in rented accommodation (46% vs 41% living in an owner-occupied household).
• People finding it difficult to manage financially (53%) or just getting by (50%) compared to those living comfortably (30%) or doing alright (36%).
• People with sole responsibility for household decisions (50% vs 33% who were not responsible for decisions).

There were some differences in being most worried about other bills by age.

• Food and other household essentials were more likely to be the main concern for those in age groups 25 to 44 (25%) compared with those aged under 25 (17%) and those aged 65 and over (11%).
• Transport was a particular worry for those aged under 25 (20%) compared with those in age groups 25 and over (between 4% and 8%).

People who were worried more about energy bills compared with other household bills were asked to select their reasons for this from a list. As in previous spring waves, the most selected reason was concern that prices will go up compared with what they had paid in the past year^{[footnote 2]}) (64%). Around half of this subgroup thought energy bills had increased more than other bills (51%, down from 61% in Spring 2023). Other reasons for being most worried about energy bills included having less control over energy bills than other bills (45%, up from 41% in Spring 2024); energy bills being more expensive than other bills (44%, down from 49% in Spring 2024 and 56% in Spring 2023); and because energy is not something they can go without (42%).

Impact of increased cost of energy bills

Respondents were asked to choose from a list of actions which, if any, they had taken in recent months because of increased energy bills (Figure 5.6). Overall, in Spring 2025, 70% of people said they had taken at least one of these cost-saving actions, with this continuing the decreasing trend from 77% in Spring 2024 and 82% in Spring 2023. This complements the decreasing levels of worry about energy bills (see Figure 5.4 above).

People were most likely to reduce energy use, but not to an uncomfortable level (40%, down from 49% in Spring 2023) and to reduce energy use to an uncomfortable level (22%, down from 26% in Spring 2024).

Other actions including skipping meals, borrowing money, missing important journeys, and taking out loans were each reported by around one in ten people. There were slight decreases since Spring 2024 in reports of skipping meals (9% down from 11%) and missing important journeys to save money on fuel or fares (8% down from 10%).

Figure 5.6: Actions taken in recent months because of increase to energy bills (% based on all people), Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025

COSTACTIONS. Which, if any, of the following actions have you taken in recent months because of the increase in the cost of your energy bills? Please select all that apply.

Base: All wave respondents – Spring 2023 (4,395), Spring 2024 (4,083), Spring 2025 (3,409)

Analysis by subgroups

By age

• People aged under 25 (54%) and aged 65 and over (67%) were less likely to report taking any cost saving actions compared with those in age groups 25 to 64 and over (between 72% and 76%).

By tenure

• People living in rented accommodation were more likely to report taking any cost-saving action (81%) compared with those in owner-occupier households (66%).
• This difference was reflected across all categories, with the exception of reducing energy but not to an uncomfortable level. Owner occupiers were more likely than renters to say they have done this (43% vs 36%).

By financial hardship

• Those finding it difficult to get by financially were more likely to report taking any cost-saving action (93%) compared with those living comfortably or doing alright (57%). For example:
  • Reducing energy to an uncomfortable level was higher for those who were finding it difficult financially (44%) compared to those finding it fine (12%) and those just about getting by (31%).
  • Those finding it difficult were more likely to report skipping meals (30%) compared to those finding it fine (2%) and those just about getting by (13%).
• People living comfortably or doing alright were more likely to say they had reduced their energy use but not to an uncomfortable level (42%), compared to those just about getting by (46%) and who were finding it difficult (27%).

Attitudes towards cost of renewable energy

Between Spring 2022 and Spring 2023 people became more positive that energy bills would decrease with a move to renewable energy sources, and were less likely to think that energy bills would increase, both in both the short term (next one to two years) and the long term (10 years or more) (Figure 5.7).

However, this changed in Spring 2024, and in Spring 2025 expectations of an increase in prices increased in both the short term (57%, up from 49% in Spring 2024 and 53% at baseline) and long term (33%, up from 30% in Spring 2024 and 26% at baseline). While there has been an increase in expectations of higher energy bills, more people still felt that they will go down in the long term (41%, down from 46% in Spring 2024) compared to those who said they would increase (33%).

Figure 5.7: Perceived impact of move to renewable energy sources on energy bills (% based on all people), Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024 & Spring 2025

IMPACTBILL. What impact do you think that the UK’s move to renewable energy sources might have on people’s energy bills in the UK…? 

Base: All wave respondents – Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024 / Spring 2025: …In the short term (1-2 years) (4,336/4,377/4,079/3,397); …In the long term (10 or more years) (4,301/4,372/4,061/3,384)

Analysis by subgroups

By age:

• Older people aged 65 and over were more likely to expect energy bills to go up in both the short and long term. For example, 63% of those aged 65 and over expected an increase in the short term compared with between 51% and 52% of those in age groups 16 to 34.

By education:

• There were no differences by education in short term expectations of energy bill prices, although in the long-term people with a degree were more likely than those with no qualifications to expect prices to go down (52% vs 29%) and less likely to expect them to go up (25% vs 45%).

Flexible energy schemes

Two new questions were added in Spring 2025 to assess awareness of and the likelihood to use flexible energy reward schemes. The following introduction was presented to respondents: ‘Some energy suppliers offer customers an opportunity to change their electricity use to certain times to receive rewards, such as money off their energy bills, free electricity or vouchers. These are referred to as flexible energy reward schemes. Suppliers use different names for these schemes, including Saving Sessions, PeakSave and Demand Flexibility Service’.

As shown in Figure 5.8, 70% of people said they were aware of flexible energy schemes, although just 25% said they knew a lot or a fair amount about them.

People were broadly positive about these types of scheme, with a higher proportion saying they were likely to use them (47%) than not (30%). Combining those who said they were very or fairly likely to sign up with the 7% who said they were already using such a scheme, over half (54%) of people were open to such schemes.

Figure 5.8: Awareness of and likelihood to use flexible energy reward schemes

FLEXENERGYAWARE. Before today, how much, if anything, did you know about flexible energy reward schemes?
   Base: All wave respondents – Spring 2025 (3,405)

FLEXENERGYUSE. How likely are you to use a flexible energy reward scheme?
Base: All wave respondents – Spring 2025 (3,403) (% based on all people), Spring 2025

Analysis by subgroups

By age:

• Awareness of flexible energy reward schemes was lower among those aged under 25 (55% vs between 67% and 79% of those in age groups 25 and over) with a similar pattern for knowledge.
• People in age groups 55 and over (between 35% and 43%) said they were less likely to use such a scheme compared to all other age groups (19% to 28%).

By housing tenure:

• Awareness of flexible energy reward schemes was higher for people living in owner-occupied households than those in rented accommodation (73% vs 65%) with a similar pattern for knowledge.
• However, likelihood to use such a scheme was higher for renters (52% compared with 45% in owner-occupied households).

By financial hardship

• Awareness of flexible energy reward schemes was higher for people living comfortably or doing alright (74%) compared with those just about getting by (66%) and those finding it difficult (63%), with a similar pattern for knowledge.
• A higher proportion of people finding it difficult to get by financially said they were likely to use such a scheme (56%) compared with those living comfortably or doing alright (45%).

Further findings on energy bills and tariffs

In previous waves, questions were included on other topics relating to energy bills and tariffs. The latest findings relating to these topics can be found as follows:

• Attention paid to energy use in the home and ways in which this is monitored, see Winter 2024 report energy bills and tariffs - section on ‘Monitoring energy use’.
• Awareness of and likelihood of switching to ‘time of use’ electricity tariffs, see Winter 2024 report energy bills and tariffs - section on ‘Time of use electricity tariffs’.
• Electrical vehicle ownership and awareness of smart charging, see Winter 2024 report energy bills and tariffs - section on ‘Smart electric vehicle charging’.
• Self-reported knowledge on reducing energy use, see Summer 2024 report on energy bills and tariffs - section on ‘Knowledge about reducing energy use’.
• Changes made in last two years to reduce energy use, see Summer 2024 report on energy bills and tariffs - section on ‘Changes in energy use made in the last two years’.
• How energy bills are paid, see Summer 2024 report on energy bills and tariffs - section on ‘Cost of energy bills’.
• Attitudes towards government financial support to households to help with energy bills. , see Summer 2024 report on energy bills and tariffs - section on ‘Attitudes towards Government financial support with energy costs’.
• Satisfaction with service delivery from energy suppliers, see Spring 2024 report on energy bills and tariffs – section on ‘Energy suppliers’.
• Awareness of and attitudes towards smart appliances, see Summer 2024 report on energy bills and tariffs - section on ‘Smart appliances’.

1. An overview of domestic energy price changes can be found here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9491/ ↩

2. In Spring 2025 this response option was changed from ‘in the past’ to ‘in the past 12 months’ to provide an unambiguous time period in the question wording. ↩