Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of energy companies applying higher tariffs for customers who do not pay through direct debit.

Since July 2023, the Government has used the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) to provide a discount, so as to levelise prepayment charges with those for direct debit customers. The EPG discount applies until the end of March 2024 and Ofgem is, at the request of Government, currently consulting on proposals to levelise charges from April on an ongoing basis.