Energy: Meters

(asked on 17th January 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that Ofgem effectively scrutinises the practice of energy companies moving customers onto energy pre-payment meters.


Answered by
Graham Stuart Portrait
Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This question was answered on 25th January 2023

Ofgem has extensive rules in place in relation to protecting prepayment meter customers. Suppliers may only install prepayment meters without consent (force-fitting) to recover debt as a last resort and Ofgem expects all other routes of debt recovery to have been exhausted before a supplier fits a prepay meter. Suppliers must make sure that whenever they install a prepayment meter, they verify that it is safe and reasonably practicable to do so, considering whether a consumer’s vulnerability makes a prepayment meter a poor choice, for example where medical equipment is required. This includes when switching a smart meter to prepayment mode.

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