Official Statistics

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

Published 28 October 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/desnz-public-attitudes-tracker-summer-2025/desnz-public-attitudes-tracker-energy-bills-and-tariffs-summer-2025-uk

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 Summer 2025 wave of the Tracker, which ran from 8 July to 13 August 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.

Line charts included in this report, based on a longer time series, use abbreviated season names in the x-axis (e.g. Summer 2025 = Sum 2025). 

The age-related findings are reported using 6 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 3 age groups 45-54, 55-64 and 65+.

Please note that some of the geographical findings have fluctuated over time. These variations may, in part, be due to the base sizes in specific areas and the wide geographic area covered by regions.

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 they know ‘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 Summer 2025. The findings should be viewed in light of the changing energy prices over this period[footnote 1].

Energy saving 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 this for the 2 most recent 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 by Summer 2023 (29%) and Spring 2025 (31%), falling further to 26% in Summer 2025.

Between Spring 2025 and Summer 2025, overall attention paid to energy saving remained stable: 82% said they paid a lot or a fair amount of attention, and 18% 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, Summer 2025 [footnote 2]

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), Summer (3,993), Spring 2024 (4,082), Summer 2024 (3,641), Spring 2025 (3,406), Summer 2025* (3481).

*’Don’t know’ option included in Summer 2025; chart data excludes respondents giving a ‘Don’t know’ response.

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 Spring 2025, and between Spring 2025 and Summer 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 55 and over: between 89% and 90% paid a lot or a fair amount of attention, falling to 64% of those aged under 25.
  • People finding it difficult to get by financially: 35% paid a lot of attention, compared with 22% of those living comfortably or doing alright.

Knowledge about reducing energy use

In Summer 2025, almost all people (96%) said they had some awareness of the most effective ways to reduce energy use in the home, similar to Summer 2024 and Summer 2023 (Figure 5.2). The proportion saying they knew a lot or a fair amount increased from 54% in Summer 2024 to 60% in Summer 2025; with a similar rise in the proportion saying they knew a lot (from 12% to 15%).

Figure 5.2: Knowledge about most effective ways to reduce energy use in the home (based on all people), Summer 2023, Summer 2024, Summer 2025

ENEFFKNOW. How much would you say you know about the most effective ways to reduce energy use in your home?

Base: All wave respondents – Summer 2023 (3,990), Summer 2024 (3,635), Summer 2025 (3,528).

Analysis by subgroups

Overall self-reported awareness of the most effective ways to reduce energy use in the home was very high across the board. Knowledge (knowing a lot or a fair amount) about the most effective ways to reduce energy use was higher among the following subgroups:

  • People in age groups 55 and over: between 70% and 72% falling to 46% of those aged under 25.
  • People in owner-occupied households: 65% compared with 53% of those in rented households. Knowledge was also higher among private renters (58%) compared with social renters (47%).
  • People living comfortably or doing alright: 64% compared with 52% of those finding it difficult to manage financially.

A further question[footnote 3] asked respondents whether or not they were interested in finding out more about the most effective ways to reduce energy use in their home. In Summer 2025, 50% said they would like to know more, with no change since Summer 2023. This was higher among the following subgroups:

  • People with a degree: 61% compared with 48% of those with another kind of qualification and 37% of those with no qualifications.
  • Those with an annual household income of £45,000 or more: 61% falling to 45% of those with an income of below £15,000.

Cost of energy bills

Payment method

To provide further context for concerns about paying bills, people were asked in each summer survey wave about how they paid their energy bills[footnote 4].

In Summer 2025, most people paid by direct debit or standing order (80%, up from 77% in Summer 2024). One in 10 said they paid on receipt of bills (10%, down from 12%), with 9% paying via a prepayment meter (Figure 5.3).

Figure 5.3: How household usually pays energy bills (based on all households), Summer 2023, Summer 2024, Summer 2025

BILLPAY. How does your household usually pay for the energy supplied to your home? If you pay using different methods for electricity and gas, please select both.

Base: All wave respondents – Summer 2023 (3,996), Summer 2024 (3,638), Summer 2025 (3,525).

Note: At this question, results are weighted to households (not individuals).

Analysis by subgroups

By age:

  • People aged 16-24 were less likely to report paying by direct debit or standing order: 60% compared with between 72% and 86% of those aged 25 and over.
  • People aged 65 and over were less likely to report having a prepayment meter: 4% compared with between 8% and 14% of those in age groups under 55.

By housing tenure:

  • People in owner-occupied households were more likely to report paying by direct debit or standing order: 89% compared with 60% in rented households.
  • People in rented households were more likely than those in owner-occupied households to report payment on receipt of bills (15% vs 8%) or via a prepayment meter (23% vs 2%). Furthermore, social renters were more likely to report a prepayment meter (27%) compared with private renters (15%).

By income:

  • People with an annual personal income of £45,000 or more were more likely to report paying by direct debit or standing order: 93% falling to 69% of those with an income below £15,000.
  • People with a personal income below £15,000 were more likely to report payment on receipt of bills: 13% falling to 5% of those with a personal income of £45,000 or more. There was a similar difference for prepayment meters: 15% falling to 2%.
  • There were similar patterns of differences by level of financial hardship. For example, those finding it fine financially were less likely to report using a prepayment meter (5%) compared to those who were finding it difficult (17%).

Concern about paying 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[footnote 5]) to 47% in Summer 2025, with some fluctuation over more recent waves. The proportion being very worried has fallen from 29% to 17% over the period of tracking (Figure 5.4).

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, Summer 2025

PAYBILLEN. Over the last 3 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), Summer 2025 (3,522).

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 Spring 2025, and between Spring 2025 and Summer 2025. On the stacked bar chart, the abbreviation PNTS refers to respondents who selected prefer not to say.

Analysis by subgroups

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

  • People in age bands 25 and over: between 13% and 22% compared with 7% of those aged 16 to 24.
  • People living in rented accommodation: 27% compared with 13% of those in owner-occupied housing.
  • People finding it difficult to get by financially: 49% compared with 6% of those living comfortably or doing alright.

Smart appliances

A series of updated questions about smart appliances was added in Summer 2024[footnote 6].

Respondents were provided with the following explanation about energy smart appliances before asking for their awareness and likelihood to purchase these:

‘Smart appliances are normal household appliances that have built in features enabling them to connect to the internet. This allows them to be controlled and monitored remotely using a smart phone or tablet. Smart appliances can be scheduled to come on at certain times. They can also be linked to smart meters to come on during periods of low electricity prices. This can help to lower customer bills and also manage demand on the electricity grid. Examples of smart appliances include: smart kitchen appliances, smart thermostats to control heating, and other appliances such as smart electric vehicle chargers’.

Awareness of smart appliances

In Summer 2025, 93% of people said that they were aware of smart appliances, down slightly from 95% in Summer 2024 (Figure 5.5). Self-reported knowledge (knowing a lot or a fair amount) remained stable at 40%. Just 11% said they knew a lot, up slightly from 9% in Summer 2024.

Figure 5.5: Awareness of smart appliances (based on all people), Summer 2024, Summer 2025

SMAPPKNOW. Before today, how much, if anything, did you know about smart appliances?

Base: All wave respondents – Summer 2024 (3,641), Summer 2025 (3,530).

Analysis by subgroups

Overall awareness of smart appliances was very high (93%) but was lower among some subgroups:

  • People aged 65 and over: 88% compared with between 93% and 96% of those aged under 65.
  • People with no qualifications (84% compared with 96% with a degree).

Self-reported knowledge of smart appliances (the percentage who said they knew a lot or a fair amount) was lower among the following subgroups:

  • People aged 65 and over: 25% compared with between 44% and 46% of those in age groups under 55.
  • People with no qualifications: 20% compared with 46% of those with a degree.
  • People living in social rented accommodation (31%) compared with 41% living in owner occupied households and 44% in privately rented accommodation.

Likelihood to replace an appliance with a smart appliance

In Summer 2025, 53% of people (down from 56% in Summer 2024) said that they would be likely to buy a smart appliance next time they needed to buy or replace a large household appliance such as a washing machine or dishwasher (Figure 5.6). Just 15% said this was very likely, down from 17%. Around a third (32%) said they would be not very likely or not at all likely to do so, with a slight increase in the proportion saying not at all likely (11% up from 8%).

Figure 5.6: Likelihood of purchasing smart appliance when next need to make a purchase (based on all people), Summer 2024, Summer 2025

SMAPPLIKWHIT (2024). Thinking about when you next need to buy or replace a large household appliance (e.g. for example a washing machine, dishwasher), how likely would you be to purchase a smart appliance?

Base: All wave respondents – Summer 2024 (3,639), Summer 2025 (3,528).

Analysis by subgroups

Overall likelihood to buy a smart appliance was highest in those aged 35 to 44 (68%) and lowest in people aged 16 to 24 (42%) and 55 and over (between 45% and 50%).

People with a smart meter[footnote 7] were also more likely to buy a smart appliance next time (58%), compared to those without a smart meter (46%).

In addition, people in owner-occupied households were more likely to say they were unlikely to buy a smart appliance next time (36%) compared with those in rented households (28%). Those in social rented households were more likely to say they were unlikely to do so (34%) compared with those in private rented households (23%).

Energy supplier control of smart appliances and use of data

A further new question was included annually from Summer 2024 to assess the level of comfort with energy supplier involvement in the use of smart appliances in the home.

In Summer 2025, 49% of people said that they would be very comfortable or fairly comfortable with their energy supplier ‘collecting data on your use of the smart appliance (for example how often the smart appliance is used, when it is used)’; this was down slightly from 52% in Summer 2024 (Figure 5.7).

A similar proportion (45%) said they would be very comfortable or fairly comfortable with their supplier ‘controlling the times in which your smart appliance comes on to make use of cheaper periods of electricity (if you give consent)’, again down slightly from 47% in Summer 2024. A small proportion said they would be very comfortable with either of their supplier collecting data (12%) or controlling times of use (13%).

There were increases between Summer 2024 and Summer 2025 in the proportion who would not be at all comfortable with their supplier collecting data (from 18% to 20%) and controlling times of use (from 21% to 26%).

Figure 5.7: How comfortable feel with energy supplier involvement in the use of smart appliances in the home to … (based on all people), Summer 2024, Summer 2025

SMAPPCONTROL2. How comfortable, if at all, do you feel about your energy supplier doing each of the following? If you don’t currently own any smart appliances, please imagine how you would feel if you did.

Base: All wave respondents – Summer 2024 / Summer 2025: collect data (3,632/3,522), control times (3,626/3,522).

Analysis by subgroups

By age:

  • People in age groups over 55 were least comfortable with their supplier collecting data: 43% reported being comfortable with data collection, compared with between 50% and 56% in age groups under 55.

By housing tenure:

  • People living in privately rented households were more likely than those in owner-occupied households to be comfortable with their supplier collecting data (59% vs 48%) and controlling time of use (55% vs 44%).

By self-reported concern about climate change:

  • People who said they were very concerned about climate change were more likely than those who said they were not concerned to be comfortable with each of their supplier collecting data (56% vs 34%) and controlling time of use (54% vs 31%).

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:

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

  2. The ‘don’t know’ answer code was erroneously added in Summer 2025. To ensure comparability with previous waves, results have been rebased on results excluding the 2% of people who answered ‘don’t know’ in Summer 2025. ↩

  3. ENEFFMORE. And do you feel you know enough about the most effective ways to reduce energy use in your home, or would you like to know more? ↩

  4. For Official Statistics on energy bills and payment types see: Domestic energy price statistics - GOV.UK. ↩

  5. For more information on energy prices during the ‘energy crisis’ and beyond, please see: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9714/ ↩

  6. Although similar questions were asked in Summer 2022, the questions have changed and are therefore no longer comparable with this previous wave. ↩

  7. Smart meter ownership data from the Public Attitudes Tracker can be found in the published time series and crosstabulation files. Official Statistics for smart meters can be found here: Smart meter statistics - GOV.UK. ↩

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