Phil has called for a “New Deal on Prepayment Meters” in an early day
motion in the House of Commons.
According to Ofgem, customers using
prepayment meters are missing out on savings worth £250 million/year.
In the motion, he noted the “disproportionate
costs incurred mainly by poorer households who pay for their gas and
electricity using a prepayment meter.”
Phil Boswell MP has proposed an alternative
to the current scheme, in which each energy supplier prioritises the
installation of Smart Pay As You Go Meters for their poorest customers,
publishes the additional costs incurred in supplying and maintaining each
prepayment meter, abolishes fees for the installation and termination of a
prepayment meter, provides two-week credit tokens to households relying on food
parcels and who cannot afford to top up their prepayment meter, and offers
rebates to prepayment customers caught out by the standing charge on their
meter over the summer months.
This alternative scheme offers relief to
those households facing fuel poverty and those on lower incomes already
struggling to make ends meet.
Commenting on the proposed “New Deal”, Phil said:
“Those
on lower incomes often struggle to make ends meet, particularly during the
colder months. According to leading charities, the current scheme of prepayment
meters is a major factor in causing fuel poverty. This ‘New Deal’ will provide
relief to those households using prepayment meters which often already struggle
to buy and cook food.”