Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to obtain information on the number of prepayment meters in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Ofgem is the regulator for the GB energy market. According to Ofgem's figures for Q3 2022, there were 4,069,814 domestic prepayment meter customers in GB. Ofgem's figures provide a breakdown by nation with 3,322,511 prepayment meter customers in England, 497,943 in Scotland and 249,360 in Wales. Data is not available at the local authority or parliamentary constituency level.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of households with a prepayment meter include a person who (a) is aged under 16 and (b) is aged over 60.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Neither the Government nor Ofgem hold this data. Ofgem has strict rules in place that mean whenever suppliers install a prepayment meter, they must verify that it is safe and reasonably practicable to do so. This should include consideration of whether a customer’s vulnerability would make a prepayment meter inappropriate, for example where medical equipment is required.
Ofgem conducted a review assessing how suppliers support customers in vulnerable situations, including assessing suppliers’ processes for installing prepayment meters. To drive improvements, Ofgem has started compliance engagement with suppliers and required them to take action to address the weaknesses that have been identified. The Government expects suppliers to comply fully with their obligations.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households in (a) the UK, (b) Great Britain, (c) England, (d) Scotland, (e) Wales and (f) Northern Ireland have a prepayment meter; and if he will provide a breakdown by (i) local authority and (ii) parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Ofgem is the regulator for the GB energy market. According to Ofgem's figures for Q3 2022, there were 4,069,814 domestic prepayment meter customers in GB. Ofgem's figures provide a breakdown by nation with 3,322,511 prepayment meter customers in England, 497,943 in Scotland and 249,360 in Wales. Data is not available at the local authority or parliamentary constituency level.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will host a summit of (a) energy companies, (b) Ofgem and (c) other relevant stakeholders to discuss (i) the forced installation of prepayment meters and (ii) the practice of self-disconnection by those households unable to afford to load credit onto prepayment meters.
Answered by Graham Stuart
I will be hosting a roundtable with suppliers, Ofgem, Energy UK and Citizens Advice to discuss the issue of prepayment meters and self-disconnection this week.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of households who were left without power in the last 12 months as a result of running out of credit on their prepayment meter in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland; and if he will provide a breakdown by (i) local authority and (ii) parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Ofgem only holds data for smart meters in prepayment mode that have disconnected, Ofgem does not hold data for traditional prepayment meter disconnections. One of the benefits of smart prepayment over traditional prepayment meters is the ability for energy suppliers to know when customers have gone off supply, and so offer timely support. Smart prepayment also enables consumers to track their balance easily, so they do not unknowingly run out of credit.
Ofgem holds data for Q1 – Q3 2022. The number of smart meters that disconnected at least once across this period are provided in the table below.
| Q1 2022 | Q2 2022 | Q3 2022 |
Scotland | 49,874 | 68,646 | 66,305 |
England | 399,975 | 511,692 | 518,881 |
Wales | 60,725 | 79,797 | 74,947 |
Ofgem does not collect data at the local authority or parliamentary constituency level.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2022 to Question 120157 on Electricity Generation: Infrastructure, how much energy is being transmitted from north to south through existing infrastructure.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As set out in the National Grid ESO Future Energy Scenario publication, approximately 35TWh of electricity was expected to flow from Scotland to the rest of Great Britain in 2021, which compares to an expectation of 124TWh in 2030.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with (a) Ofgem, (b) energy companies, (c) consumer organisations, (d) organisations advocating against fuel poverty, (e) organisations which advocate on behalf of older people and (f) other relevant stakeholders on setting a limit to the extra charges, in addition to the regular bill, which can be levied by energy companies on the bills of non-direct debit customers who pay by cash, cheque or over the phone.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Ministers and officials regularly meet with a wide range of organisations on issues relating to the energy retail market.
Suppliers incur additional costs when serving standard credit customers compared to direct debit customers, for example through additional working capital costs and administrative costs. Rules set by Ofgem mean suppliers can only charge more for one payment method than another if the price differential is cost reflective.
There are different cap levels for customers using different payment methods. This is calculated by Ofgem applying different ‘payment method uplifts’ to the benchmark of how much it costs a supplier to supply energy.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his most recent estimate is of (a) the average standard charge for energy customers and (b) the amount by which that charge has risen over the last 12 months.
Answered by Graham Stuart
According to recent data, the overall average fixed costs for standard electricity was £88.57 per year in 2021. This increased to £144.62 per year in 2022.
For more information, please follow this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/annual-domestic-energy-price-statistics
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will obtain and publish data on the (a) number and (b) percentage of energy non-direct debit customers who pay by cash, cheque or over the phone in (i) the UK, (ii) Great Britain, (iii) England, (iv) Scotland, (v) Wales and (vi) Northern Ireland as of 1 January 2023; and if he will provide that data by (A) local authority and (B) parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department does not have access to customer or supplier data.
The regulator, Ofgem, monitors and enforces compliance with the licence obligations on suppliers. Suppliers are required to ensure that their billing and payment arrangements are effective and fair, and that any differences in price between payment methods are cost-reflective.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of people eligible for fuel vouchers have taken them up in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Graham Stuart
By 1 December 2022, 99% of vouchers had been issued to customers with traditional prepayment meters under the Energy Bills Support Scheme, and 66% had been redeemed. Vouchers are valid for three months and so the Government expects this figure to rise. The Government has not yet published geographical data. Data covering December will be published shortly. Monthly updates can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support-scheme-payments-made-by-electricity-suppliers-to-customers.