Almost 86% of customers want their energy suppliers to protect their credit balances.

That’s according to a new YouGov survey commissioned by Centrica which found that 91% of E.ON customers, 88% of British Gas customers and 85% of Octopus customers want to see their providers safeguard their balances.

It is estimated that the current crisis in the UK’s energy retail market has resulted in a loss of more than £500 million of UK consumers’ money.

Last Friday, Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng wrote to the energy regulator to ask for a crackdown on energy firms amid claims some are hiking charges by more than is justified.

Chris O’Shea, Chief Executive of Centrica, said: “It is an outrage that the hard-pressed UK consumer is paying for the failure of energy suppliers and we must make sure this never happens again, starting with protecting our customers’ hard-earned cash.”