Customers forced onto prepayment meters due to energy debt

In nearly 64% of cases, a smart meter switched to prepayment mode because the customer owed money to their energy supplier

The forced use of prepayment meters (PPMs) is hitting smart meter customers hard amid the energy and cost of living crisis.

Data, obtained by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), shows that almost two-thirds of smart meters, switched to PPM in the first half of 2022 were due to debt.

This translates to nearly 48,062 households, according to the report.

Under current rules, energy providers can push someone onto a prepayment meter when they can’t pay their bills.

The research also suggests almost 895,739 customers were in debt to their energy firm by the end of June 2022, before the winter price rises kicked in.

Recent investigations revealed that energy companies secured nearly 500,000 court warrants to install traditional prepayment meters in the homes of customers in debt since the end of the lockdown.

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