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Customers UTILITY WEEK | 14TH - 20TH SEPTEMBER 2018 | 27 Figures show there has been an increase in people reporting util- ity bill debts since the financial crisis a decade ago. National Debtline, a charity run by the Money Advice Trust, has published a new report, A Decade in Debt, which reveals how the "realities of debt problems" have changed in the decade since the financial crisis. The charity says the proportion PAN-UTILITY Utility bill debts have risen in the decade since the financial crash of callers with energy arrears has risen from 9 per cent to 17 per cent. Callers with water arrears have risen from 4 per cent to 16 per cent, while 14 per cent of calls were in relation to telecoms arrears, up from 4 per cent. This year on average £972 was owed by those with energy debt, £646 was owed by those with water debt and £432 was owed by those in telecoms debt. The Money Advice Trust has set out recommendations for the government, regulators, utilities and the advice sector, including that Ofgem should work with energy suppliers to ensure payment and debt recovery processes take better account of customers with variable and irregular incomes, and that water firms should align their social tariff eligibility criteria This week Bulb announces third price rise this year Company says since June increase, wholesale energy costs have risen by a further 18 per cent Green energy supplier Bulb has confirmed it will raise prices for the third time this year, aer previously hinting the rising cost of wholesale gas and electricity would force it do so. Bulb said that since the com- pany's last price increase in June, wholesale energy costs have risen by a further 18 per cent. All of Bulb's 750,000 customers on its single "Vari- Fair" tariff will see their typical annual bill rise to £1,025, up from £923 – a rise of £8.50 per month from 11 November. This means bills will have risen by nearly 20 per cent since the beginning of the year. Bulb co-founder Hayden Wood said: "Bulb is commit- ted to supplying energy at a fair price. Aer this change, we will still be £196 cheaper than the average big six standard tariff for the typical home. "We have one tariff for all our members, which reflects the true cost of energy. When the wholesale cost changes, so does our tariff. We will drop prices when wholesale costs fall by £20 a year for an average home. "We will continue on our mission to deliver simpler, cheaper, greener energy for all our members." The company previously warned its customers in an email on 9 August that if wholesale energy costs continued to climb, it would potentially lead to a price increase. Prices were last raised by the supplier by 5.1 per cent in June as a result of "increasing wholesale energy price costs", which rose by 21 per cent since February. In February a rise of 2.8 per cent was announced. Last month, Ofgem announced it was raising its safe- guard tariff due to higher wholesale gas and electricity costs since the level was last updated in February. AJ ELECTRICITY Tonik launches renewable EV tariff Tonik Energy has launched a variable electric vehicle (EV) tariff for the "early adopters championing the EV revolution". The "Charge EV" tariff com- prises 100 per cent renewable electricity, and 10 per cent green gas with the remaining 90 per cent gas carbon offset, the company claims. Tonik managing director Chris Russell said: "We wanted to create something for those early adopters who are championing the EV revolution. We're giving people the option to power their EVs with 100 per cent renewable electricity to reduce their carbon footprint even further. "In addition we're offering Charge EV members 1,200 miles every year they are on the tariff, £40 discount off our EV chargers and a pair of tickets to [trade fair] Fully Charged Live 2019. It's our greenest tariff with some really cool added benefits." Electric vehicle sales surged to a record high in August, accounting for one in every 12 cars bought in the UK. Figures released by the Soci- ety of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on 5 Septem- ber show nearly 7,500 hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric cars were registered during the month – an 89 per cent increase on the same period in 2017. Last year the UK govern- ment's vehicle licensing statis- tics showed registration of ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) was up a record 27 per cent, meaning there were 53,203 new ULEVs registered in 2017. At the start of 2018 there were 200,000 electric cars on UK roads. WATER Yorkshire trials valve technology Yorkshire Water has tested "innovative valve technology" designed to reduce supply inter- ruptions when water pipe repair work is carried out. The company is looking at new technology to help it work towards its ambitious target to reduce leakage rates by 40 per cent by 2025. It said the "EZ Valve" technol- ogy means water does not have to be re-zoned when carrying out repairs, which will result in fewer supply interruptions and discolouration issues. Typically, water main repair involves re-zoning several kilometres of water pipes or temporarily shutting off supply before damaged pipework can be isolated, clamped and fixed. The new rubber valve means small sections of pipework can now be controlled to close off water flow, which will allow for "pinpoint repairs" of leaks and bursts without having to interfere with customers' water supply or disrupt the network. The trial was carried out in Harrogate with the valve installed by R2M Site Services, working for contract partner Morrison Utility Services. Wood: 'we will still be £196 cheaper' and application processes to reduce the current complexity. Ofgem said repayments of energy debt have fallen to the "lowest level on record", with 650,000 electricity and 540,000 gas consumers in debt. "How- ever, more consumers owe money without a repayment plan set up yet, including 600,000 electricity customers and 460,000 gas cus- tomers," a spokesperson said.