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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2023 to Question 127884 on Energy: Meters, for what reason his Department does not plan to obligate suppliers to stop forced prepayment meter switching; and if his Department will review whether a voluntary approach is an effective way to stop that practice.

Prepayment meters (PPMs) allow customers to pay for energy on a pay-as-you-go basis and serve an important function by helping the avoidance of debt, court action and physical disconnection. Obligating suppliers to stop PPM switching even as a last resort could lead to an increase in bailiff action.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has also asked energy suppliers voluntarily to commit to stopping this practice. Ofgem has stringent rules on the force-fitting of PPMs. The Secretary of State has written to Ofgem asking it to conduct a review to make sure suppliers are complying with those rules and I met with suppliers on Wednesday 25th January.