Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the operational costs are for (a) pre-payment energy meters that require (i) card or coin and (ii) remote payment and (b) standard smart meters on direct debit.

In setting the level of the price cap, Ofgem calculates the costs of metering and payment methods, and produces price cap levels for credit meters paying by direct debit and for prepayment meters. This also takes account of different network costs across the network regions. Ofgem’s calculations can be found at:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/default-tariff-cap-level-1-april-2023-30-june-2023.

The Government has announced that the cost differential between customers paying by direct debit and prepayment customers will be covered through the Energy Price Guarantee from 1 July this year, saving a comparable prepayment meter customer £45 a year on average.