One in six European households are behind on energy bills as prices soar

Some 28% of respondents to the survey said they expect payment problems.

Around one in six European households are in arrears when it comes to paying utility bills, as spiralling energy costs and the Ukrainian invasion by Russia continues to profoundly affect the continent.

According to findings from the Dublin-based EU agency European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, or Eurofound, some 16% of people are behind with their bill payments.

Ireland is below the EU average of 15.9%, but not by much, with 14.7% in arrears, according to Eurofound's latest survey of the bloc's citizens.

"The extent to which energy poverty affects respondents varies greatly according to their country of residence. 

"The proportion of respondents reporting being behind with their utility bills ranges from 7% in Denmark and Sweden to 50% in Greece," Eurofound said of its spring findings, the fifth survey so far in its Living With Covid-19 series, with 200,000 respondents across the member states.

A significant percentage of people in the EU expressed concern about their ability to pay bills in the next three months, the agency warned.

Some 28% of all respondents expect payment problems, while 31% of households with a car anticipate having difficulties to pay for the costs to keep it up and running, Eurofound said.

"For financially vulnerable households, energy poverty is an even higher risk — 45% of people who reported having difficulty making ends meet are worried they will not be able to pay their utility bills in the next three months.

This worry increases substantially among households that are already in arrears. 

"On average, 74% of them express concern that they will not be able to pay their utility bills in the next three months."

The latest round of the survey took place from the end of March to the beginning of May.