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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to instruct OFGEM to declare a moratorium on energy pre-payment meters.

Prepayment meters enable customers to control and budget for the amount they spend and help mitigate the risk of going into, or exacerbating, existing debt.

Ofgem’s Licence Conditions require suppliers to consider all options for appropriate debt management. This can include installing a prepayment meter but suppliers have to consider whether this is safe and practicable, including whether a prepayment meter is appropriate for the specific customer. Ofgem rules restrict the imposition of a prepayment meter on those in arrears, except as a last resort.