The number of smart pre-payment meters (PPMs) automatically disconnected by suppliers shot up by a nearly a third between the first and third quarters of last year, the energy minister has admitted.
Responding to a written question in Parliament from East Lothian MP Kenny MacAskill about levels of prepayment meters disconnections, Graham Stuart said Ofgem only has data for those who have smart devices.
However the regulator’s data shows that the number of smart meters in England, which were disconnected at least once due to lack of credit, shot up from 399,975 in the first quarter of 2022 to 518,881 in the third.
For Scotland, the number increased from 49,874 to 66,305 and in Wales from 60,725 to 74,947 over the same period.
Tallying up the figures shows that the overall number of disconnections across Great Britain increased from 510,574 to 660,133 – a 29% increase-between the first and third quarters of the year.
The rapid rise followed the 54% increase in the level of the default tariff price cap from £1,249 to £1,971 in April last year.
The figure have emerged against the backdrop of growing political pressure on suppliers over cash-strapped customers self disconnecting.
MacAskill, who represents the Scottish nationalist breakaway Alba Party, said: “Self-disconnection is a euphemism for simply being unable to afford to heat or power your home. It is as pernicious as the term ‘collateral damage’ is in war. Those afflicted by self-disconnection and all its misery are also civilians, but we are at peace, not war.
“These figures are for a quarter before prices rose and temperatures dropped. They are also only the tip of the iceberg. The numbers are far greater, as these figures do not cover those on legacy prepayment meters, the numbers of which are substantial, with almost 2 million in the UK and 300,000 in Scotland. They apply to those that operated before smart meters were brought in and they will substantially increase the numbers so tragically afflicted.
“In an energy-rich country, fuel poverty is an obscenity.”
Responding, Stuart said: “We must insist that people do not end up being physically disconnected from an energy supply. It is important to highlight that all suppliers are required to offer emergency credit when the meter runs out. This should give consumers enough time to top up their meters. Traditional meters have an automatic setting that allows for a set amount of emergency credit to be used after the customer is notified that the topped-up credit has been used.”
In his reply to MacAskill’s written question, Stuart said the benefits of smart prepayment over traditional prepayment meters is the ability for energy suppliers to know when customers have gone off supply, and so offer “timely” support.