https://sputnikglobe.com/20230122/uk-govt-demands-rogue-energy-firms-stop-jumping-the-gun-by-forced-fitting-of-prepayment-meters--1106578205.html
UK Gov't Demands 'Rogue' Energy Firms Stop 'Jumping the Gun' by Forced Fitting of Prepayment Meters
UK Gov't Demands 'Rogue' Energy Firms Stop 'Jumping the Gun' by Forced Fitting of Prepayment Meters
Sputnik International
UK government has ordered energy suppliers to stop 'jumping the gun' by forced fitting of prepayment meters.
2023-01-22T13:06+0000
2023-01-22T13:06+0000
2023-05-28T15:25+0000
world
heating
cost of living crisis in uk
prepayment
cost of living
energy crisis
united kingdom (uk)
https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/0b/11/1104310349_0:200:2933:1850_1920x0_80_0_0_997907dc9ed9f216acc5bc88fc8aa997.jpg
The UK government has waded into the prepayment meters row, demanding that energy suppliers end the practice of forcible instalment of such devices in households of financially strapped consumers. Such meters should only be regarded as a last resort measure, underscored Britain’s Business and Energy Secretary, after credit or debt advice had been offered.Shapps has also vowed to “name and shame” the worst "rogue" energy firms who failed to make a greater effort to help those struggling to pay household bills. Amid the surge in cases when such devices were installed, the Business Secretary asked suppliers to share data on the number of warrants they have requested for this purpose in courts.The UK government was forced to intervene and demand greater transparency around the issue after mounting evidence of applications for warrants to forcibly install such meters from energy suppliers being approved in a matter of minutes. The UK Business Secretary said that together with energy regulator Ofgem and the Secretary of State for Justice "to ensure that the process by which suppliers bring these cases to court is fair."Earlier, consumer group Citizens Advice warned that prepayment electricity meters, which were being used by around 4 million households across the country, could plunge struggling consumers into a vortex of debt.Also known as "pay-as-you-go" meters allow a customer to pay for gas or electricity in advance, by buying credit, typically with a token, key or smartcard. If an individual has a prepayment meter, they will need to buy credit for it at a 'top-up point', located in a local shop, Post Office, or via a smartphone app. While it involves paying small amounts often, Citizens Advice cautioned that it ended up being more expensive than getting an energy bill. The consumer watchdog said that one would pay less if opting for a direct debit deal. Plus, there is the daily fee for being connected - the standing charge. Amid the ongoing cost of living crisis, as a result, in part, of switching to prepayment, over 3 million people unable to afford to top up their energy accounts were disconnected from energy by suppliers last year, according to Citizens Advice. In 2022 this number was more than all of the previous 10 years combined. The service revealed that 19 percent of households thus cut off at some point in 2022 had to go for at least 24 hours without gas or electricity. According to UK energy regulator - Ofgem - groups of consumers such as disabled people and those suffering from long-term health conditions should not be forced onto a prepayment meter. Already in October last year the regulator had urged energy suppliers to do more to determine which customers were in "vulnerable circumstances" before installing a "pay-as-you-go" meter.As the issue gained traction in the Commons, ministers have been urged by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fuel Poverty to impose a moratorium on forced fitting of prepayment meters, but, so far, the government has resisted the measure.The developments come as 40-year high inflation figures, their disconnect with wages, and electricity prices in some cases surging threefold as compared with a year earlier are forcing more Britons to struggle to make ends meet. The double-digit inflation has been fuelled by the energy crisis, exacerbated by sanctions and embargoes on Russia over its special military operation in Ukraine. The onslaught of the cost of living crisis against the backdrop of a looming recession of the UK economy, in turm, set off a wave of strikes by state and private employees across diverse sectors.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20220818/45-million-brits-may-be-hit-by-fuel-poverty-by-january-new-study-reveals-1099735425.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230120/btitish-union-announces-10-more-ambulance-workers-strikes-1106522926.html
united kingdom (uk)
Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
2023
News
en_EN
Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“
uk government, energy suppliers, forcible instalment of prepayment meters, stop forced fitting of prepayment meters, controversial prepayment meters, vulnerable households disconnected, uk’s poorest households without electricity or gas, meters should be last resort measure, what is a prepayment meter, cost of living crisis, energy crisis, struggling to pay household bills
uk government, energy suppliers, forcible instalment of prepayment meters, stop forced fitting of prepayment meters, controversial prepayment meters, vulnerable households disconnected, uk’s poorest households without electricity or gas, meters should be last resort measure, what is a prepayment meter, cost of living crisis, energy crisis, struggling to pay household bills
UK Gov't Demands 'Rogue' Energy Firms Stop 'Jumping the Gun' by Forced Fitting of Prepayment Meters
13:06 GMT 22.01.2023 (Updated: 15:25 GMT 28.05.2023) Amid the scandal around the forced installation of prepayment energy meters, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fuel Poverty has urged that a moratorium be set in place, arguing that the controversial approach may leave the UK’s poorest households without electricity or gas.
The UK government has waded into the prepayment meters row, demanding that energy suppliers end the practice of forcible instalment of such devices in households of financially strapped consumers. Such meters should only be regarded as a last resort measure,
underscored Britain’s Business and Energy Secretary, after credit or debt advice had been offered.
“Suppliers are clearly jumping the gun and moving at risk customers onto prepayment meters before offering them the support they are entitled to... I simply cannot believe that every possible alternative has been exhausted in all these cases,” Grant Shapps said in a statement.
Shapps has also vowed to “name and shame” the worst "rogue" energy firms who failed to make a greater effort to help those struggling to pay household bills. Amid the surge in cases when such devices were installed, the Business Secretary asked suppliers to share data on the number of warrants they have requested for this purpose in courts.
The UK government was forced to intervene and demand greater transparency around the issue after mounting evidence of applications for warrants to forcibly install such meters from energy suppliers being approved in a matter of minutes.
The UK Business Secretary said that together with energy regulator Ofgem and the Secretary of State for Justice "to ensure that the process by which suppliers bring these cases to court is fair."
Earlier, consumer group
Citizens Advice warned that prepayment electricity meters, which were being used by around 4 million households across the country, could plunge struggling consumers into
a vortex of debt.
Also known as "pay-as-you-go" meters allow a customer to pay for gas or electricity in advance, by buying credit, typically with a token, key or smartcard. If an individual has a prepayment meter, they will need to buy credit for it at a 'top-up point', located in a local shop, Post Office, or via a smartphone app. While it involves paying small amounts often, Citizens Advice cautioned that it ended up being more expensive than getting an energy bill. The consumer watchdog said that one would pay less if opting for a direct debit deal. Plus, there is the daily fee for being connected - the standing charge.
Amid the ongoing cost of living crisis, as a result, in part, of switching to prepayment, over 3 million people unable to afford to top up their energy accounts were disconnected from energy by suppliers last year, according to Citizens Advice. In 2022 this number was more than all of the previous 10 years combined.
The service revealed that 19 percent of households thus cut off at some point in 2022 had to go for at least 24 hours without gas or electricity.
According to UK energy regulator - Ofgem - groups of consumers such as disabled people and those suffering from long-term health conditions should not be forced onto a prepayment meter. Already in October last year the regulator had urged energy suppliers to do more to determine which customers were in "vulnerable circumstances" before installing a "pay-as-you-go" meter.
As the issue gained traction in the Commons, ministers have been urged by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fuel Poverty to impose a moratorium on forced fitting of prepayment meters, but, so far, the government has resisted the measure.
18 August 2022, 15:00 GMT
The developments come as
40-year high inflation figures, their disconnect with wages, and electricity prices in some cases surging threefold as compared with a year earlier are forcing more Britons to struggle to make ends meet. The double-digit inflation has been fuelled by the energy crisis, exacerbated by sanctions and embargoes on Russia over its special military operation in Ukraine. The onslaught of the
cost of living crisis against the backdrop of a looming recession of the UK economy, in turm, set off a wave of
strikes by state and private employees across diverse sectors.
20 January 2023, 10:31 GMT
