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Pre-payment meter customers are £1bn in debt, campaigners say

BRITAIN'S poorest and most vulnerable energy users owe suppliers a total of £1 billion for gas and electricity, campaigners warned today.

The granting of new warrants to force the installation of prepayment meters has been suspended, but the debt remains hanging over hundreds of thousands of households who already have a prepay account.

Energy companies are enforcing repayment by taking a few pounds a week from customers’ prepay meter payments, meaning that they face being disconnected sooner when the money runs out.

The shocking debt burden was revealed by human rights group Debt Justice, which said that 804,299 prepay meter customers are paying off debts for gas and 1,021,674 for electricity.

Senior policy officer Joe Cox said: “The energy crisis is far from over. 

“The fallout from record energy prices and the huge build-up of debt could impact millions of households for years to come unless the government steps up to tackle the problem.

“We need to pause energy debt enforcement, write down the unpayable debt and reform the energy system to ensure everyone has access to the energy they need.”

Jonathan Bean of energy campaign group Fuel Poverty Action said: “These debts are a direct result of artificially inflated energy prices and slow government action on insulation and renewables.

“Energy firms are enjoying billions of pounds in windfall profits, whilst those on low incomes face the brutality of being cut off when they cannot afford to top up. 

“These obscene profits should be returned to people to cover these debts.”

Companies’ right to forcibly enter indebted customers’ homes to install prepay meters was suspended by Ofgem after it was revealed that magistrates had issued 94,000 warrants for such action in 2022.

National Pensioners Convention general secretary Jan Shortt, called regulator Ofgem to give vulnerable customers greater protection.

The average household debt for gas is £1,218, with an average repayment of £6.30 a week. Average household debt for electricity is £1,760 and the average repayment is £7 a week.

It will take customers four years on average to pay off a debt for gas and four and a half years for electricity.

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