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 reduce the high deemed rental costs associated with contracts between meter asset providers and energy suppliers, particularly when a customer switches energy supplier.

The Government regularly engages with energy suppliers and Meter Asset Providers (MAPs) to better understand the contractual developments in the marketplace for energy meters.

Deemed rental charges have been in use for a number of years and were introduced as an option for energy suppliers who did not want to sign a formal churn contract with the MAP.

Energy suppliers continue to have a choice of rental agreement when they gain a meter and the Government remain of the view that the current market is operating in a competitive way.