Suppliers are better assessing when prepayment meters are suitable and taking steps to identify those who are struggling to pay and may be self disconnecting, said Consumer Focus in a report published today. Customers ability to pay has also been better gauged compared to last year, said the watchdog.
Consumer Focus estimates there are 9.6 million people in Great Britain live in homes where they pay for their energy through a prepayment meter (PPM) and the meters are becoming more common. Last year around 1818 PPMs were installed every working day.
Electricity PPM customers in summer 2011 were given on average about a third more time by their supplier to repay a debt compared to the same period in 2010, making weekly repayments more manageable. Gas customers were given about 60 per cent more time to repay their debt. Consumer Focus welcomed the moves from suppliers, which have incorporated ability to pay into staff training. Some suppliers, such as SSE and Scottish Power, are now monitoring customers making repayments over a certain threshold.
The watchdog also welcomed suppliers giving customers more time to top up their meters so that they will not be disconnected if they run out of credit at night, over the weekend, or over the Christmas and New Year bank holidays.
However, Consumer Focus said suppliers now need to better understand the PPM market. Most PPM customers don’t have a debt and could be segmented and given better service offerings. Suppliers need to improve communications and give them more choice, said the watchdog. These improvements should be made before the smart meter rollout so that PPM customers do not miss out on smart benefits, and suppliers should continue to share best practice, the report concluded.
See the report here.