Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to require energy companies to replace prepayment meters that have been forcibly installed with credit meters.

The Government has set out its 5-point plan regarding prepayment meters and Ministers will keep the House updated on its progress. Ofgem has launched a new prepayment meter investigation, in response to the 5-point plan: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/letter-jonathan-brearley-secretary-state-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy-tackling-inappropriate-energy-supplier-prepayment-meter-practices.

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 and court action. Ofgem has stringent rules on the force-fitting of prepayment meters and is responsible for ensuring licensed energy suppliers comply with those rules. Ofgem publishes details of its compliance and enforcement action on its website at: www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-policy-and-regulation/compliance-and-enforcement.