Energy regulator Ofgem has proposed new measures to protect consumers and prevent energy companies from charging households high direct debits, as households continue to struggle to meet soaring energy bills.
Ofgem said its new measures, which include limits on direct debit payments to "ensure credit balances don't become excessive", aim to prevent a repeat of last autumn's and winter's crisis of electricity and gas suppliers going out of business.
As a result of record-high wholesale energy prices, more than 25 suppliers went out of business last year.
As part of the proposed package, rules also guarantee that users' money is protected when a company fails and customers are transferred to a new provider with credit balances, preventing households from having to pay the bill.
Ofgem said the cost of switching customers of failed companies to new suppliers was £94 per household, which included new suppliers purchasing extra gas at short notice while gas prices were at record highs and replacing lost credit balances and green levy payments.
"Today's proposals will make sure that customers' hard-earned money is properly protected so that a company must foot the bill if it fails, rather than consumers picking up the tab," Jonathan Brearley, chief executive said in a statement.
Ofgem has already raised the energy price cap by 54% or almost £700 in April to £1,971 a year, and last month signaled that it was set to rise again, by £800 or more in October.
This in turn is expected to push inflation above 11% later in the year.
The regulator said the new measures aim to ensure that suppliers "can weather the ongoing storm" and to prevent a repeat of last year's failures, which leave consumers with "unfair and unnecessary costs" and worries.
It has also been proposed that the energy price cap should be changed four times a year, rather than the current two.