Around 1.7million households plan to cancel their energy bill payments, but experts warn this could lumber them with even higher costs.
Energy bills could reach £3,554 from October, according to energy experts at Cornwall Insight, and could top £5,000 next year.
In response, 1.7million households say they have cancelled direct debit payments to energy suppliers - or are likely to, the i reports.
Brits are cancelling their direct debits for two main reasons.
First is because they feel this gives them more control over their spending.
Direct debit payments are taken from bank accounts automatically, so swapping to manual payments means no payments go out without being vetted.
But many are cancelling energy direct debit payments out of protest at soaring bills.
A group called Don't Pay UK want one million households to go on a form of energy bill strike if there is no more Government help with bills by October 1.
The Don't Pay website says: "Even if a fraction of those of us who are paying by direct debit stop our payments, it will be enough to put energy companies in serious trouble, and they know this.
"We want to bring them to the table and force them to end this crisis."
But not paying energy bills for whatever reason is risky, experts warn.
Consumer champion Martyn James said: "As the energy crisis bites, huge numbers of people – reputedly up to 1.7million – have said they have or will cancel their direct debits.
"This is a major concern, not least because you get a (small) discount for paying by direct debit."
James said many energy firms have automatic debt collection procedures.
He added: "So if you don’t pay for a certain amount of time and ignore warnings, you could be passed to an internal debt management department and face charges.
"If that doesn’t work then your debt could go to a debt collector."
In the worst-case scenarios, households who don't pay could be put on to a pre-payment meter, which is more expensive than standard meters.
They may even have their energy cut off, though James said this is rare.
But the consumer champion added that many households are cancelling direct debits due to running out of cash, not out of protest.
James said: "Most of the people I speak to are cancelling their direct debits because they literally don’t have the money to pay them.
"If that’s the case then pay what you can afford and seek help from the business now as you may meet their criteria for help as a result of financial difficulties."
Energy regulator Ofgem has a guide for people who cannot afford their energy bills here.
