To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will work with energy companies to ensure that those using pre-payment meters pay the equivalent tariffs to those paying by direct debit, irrespective of whether smart meters are installed.
Answered on
15 September 2014
Energy supplier licence conditions, set by Ofgem, allow suppliers to apply different charges to different payment methods providing the differentials reflect the costs to the supplier of the form of payment. This allowance is made in recognition of the fact that some payment methods are more expensive to administer than others. In May 2014, Ofgem published the results of analysis on this issue which showed that across the market the price on different payment methods reflects the varying costs suppliers face in providing them. This is available at the following link: