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 taking to ensure people paying for utilities on a pay as you go basis are not charged higher tariffs compared to people who pay through regular billing during the covid-19 outbreak.

Consumers who pay for their energy on a pay as you go basis are protected by the Pre-payment Meter Price Cap which came into force on 1 April 2017. This cap applies to prepayment meter consumers on a non-fixed deal and without an interoperable smart meter and is set so as to ensure that prices are fair. Energy suppliers can price to the level of the cap or below it but cannot charge more. Ofgem are monitoring the energy market closely and will adjust the Prepayment Meter Cap to reflect changes in the underlying factors.