Smart Meters Archives - End Fuel Poverty Coalition

Smart meter compensation, standing charge tariffs and grid incentives all set for change

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has responded to a series of recent announcements from Ofgem and the UK Government aimed at addressing energy affordability and system reform.

Ofgem has confirmed new standards and automatic compensation for customers with faulty smart meters. These measures are intended to reduce delays, improve installation success rates and help ensure more households can access time-of-use tariffs and lower-cost energy deals.

The Coalition has warned this step must only be the beginning as too many households still face faulty meters and are locked out of savings from the best tariffs on the market.

Ofgem must go further by closing loopholes that allow suppliers to dodge responsibility, regularly enforcing automatic compensation, and requiring transparency on smart meter faults and gaps in service. Without working meters, vulnerable households remain excluded from a fair energy system.

Ofgem has also outlined plans to require all suppliers to offer at least one low or zero standing charge tariff from early 2026. The proposals are designed to offer more choice and flexibility, especially for low-use households, though questions remain around eligibility and accessibility for vulnerable and prepayment customers.

The Coalition warned [pdf] that without safeguards, these tariffs may benefit only those who already self-ration energy or have smart technologies.

Prepayment customers, who are most harmed by standing charges, must be prioritised and protected. Ofgem should also consider defaulting low-usage and vulnerable households onto the most suitable tariff automatically. A rushed implementation during winter could do more harm than good.

A wider review of how network and policy costs are recovered through bills is also under way, with Ofgem seeking views on long-term reforms.

The Coalition welcomed the launch of this review but urged Ofgem to accelerate progress. Changes must be designed to protect low-income, low-use households from regressive fixed costs and to ensure fairer distribution of energy system costs. Long-term reform must prioritise affordability and equity, not just consumer ‘choice’ or supplier convenience.

In a separate decision, Ofgem confirmed changes to how the costs of failed energy suppliers are handled.

These changes aim to protect customers from having to absorb the full costs of future supplier collapses, which have added over £2.3 billion to bills in recent years. The Coalition welcomed this long-overdue intervention, calling it an important move to stop households footing the bill for industry failure.

Meanwhile, the UK Government has announced a new policy offering £125 off energy bills every six months for ten years to households living near new electricity pylons.

The Coalition supports efforts to accelerate the grid upgrades needed to connect renewables and large-scale battery storage to the electricity grid. However, infrastructure must be delivered with public consent ensuring that communities have a meaningful say in what gets built and where. This includes having control over how any ‘compensation’ or community benefit funding is used.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“These steps are moves in the right direction, but the job isn’t done.

“Vulnerable households still face major barriers in accessing fair energy deals, and structural issues like high electricity prices and standing charges remain unresolved.

“With the North Sea running out of gas and import dependence rising, the future of affordable energy lies in homegrown renewables.

“And of course, this needs to be fair to the communities where these vital national projects will take place. But in some areas, investment in local energy projects, insulation schemes, or community facilities may have far greater long-term value than bill discounts.

“Communities must have the power to shape the benefits as well as the infrastructure.”

ENDS

Smart meter rule changes needed as July price cap change comes in

Britain’s smart meter rollout must provide stronger protections for those left without functioning meters or denied access to cheaper energy tariffs.

In its submission to Ofgem’s consultation on Smart Meter Guaranteed Standards of Performance, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said the regulator’s proposals “do not go far enough” and risk “letting down the very people most in need of support.”

The warning comes as the 1 July energy price cap change comes into effect and millions of households are expected to start shopping around for better energy deals. Many of the most competitive tariffs are now only available to customers with working smart meters.

Consumers without functioning smart meters, or who have been unable to get one installed, are often excluded from these deals, further widening the gap between those who can and cannot afford to heat their homes.

“This is fast becoming a two-tier energy system,” the report warns.

“Households without smart meters, often through no fault of their own, are now locked out of the most affordable tariffs. This creates a form of discrimination and risks trapping more people in fuel poverty.”

The Coalition’s submission lays out two key categories of compensation. First, it recommends quarterly automatic compensation for ongoing failures such as:

A smart meter not being connected by the Data Communications Company (DCC).
Areas with no DCC coverage despite consumer requests.
Installation failures in buildings with architectural challenges (e.g. stone walls, first-floor flats).
Smart meters that fail to communicate with suppliers or the DCC.
Smart meters that don’t work properly after installation.

Secondly, it calls for one-off automatic payments for each occasion where:

Meter readings are recorded incorrectly during installation.
Installation appointments aren’t provided within a set timeframe.
Engineers miss scheduled appointments.
Installations fail due to supplier-related issues.

The Coalition says that suppliers should be required to pay compensation even when third-party organisations are at fault, and then reclaim the cost from those responsible in a significant departure from the current system.

It warns that current proposals rely on the phrase “within a supplier’s control” before compensation can be paid out which risks creating loopholes that allow firms to dodge accountability.

Separately, the Coalition has raised concerns with regulators about the impact of increasing reliance on time of use tariffs on vulnerable groups who have less ability to shift demand to alternative times of the day.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:

“Smart meters can be a force for good, helping households manage their usage, access better tariffs, and reduce costs. But we need to remember those households who are unable to access these tariffs.

“It’s time for energy companies to take full responsibility for the broken smart meter rollout. Consumers have already paid billions for this programme through their bills, yet they are the ones being left without working meters, without access to the best tariffs, and without proper compensation.

“All of these issues are happening at the same time as we see ongoing structural problems in the UK’s energy pricing system continue to drive up the cost of electricity, which remains closely linked to volatile global gas markets under the marginal pricing model.

“The geological reality is that the North Sea basin is dying and there are limited levels of gas for home heating left, the UK is simply running out of gas. No amount of new drilling will stop Britain’s deepening dependency on foreign gas.

“The sooner households are supported to move to alternative heating and cooking systems the better.”

ENDS

The full response to the Ofgem consultation is available to read as a pdf.

Pre-payment meters crisis hits ‘smart’ customers

The forced use of pre-payment meters (PPMs) is hitting smart meter customers, according to new data released under Freedom of Information rules. [1]

Almost two-thirds of smart meters switched to the more expensive “pre-payment” mode in the first half of 2022 were due to debt (48,062 households).

The figures, obtained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and shared with the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, reveal that in 64.4% of cases, a smart meter was forced into a pre-payment mode as the customer was in debt to their energy firm.

Separate figures for the Warm This Winter campaign, reveal that 68% of smart pre-payment meter customers are vulnerable, with 58% having health conditions or disabilities. [2]

While the number of smart meter customers who have been “disconnected by the backdoor” is lower than for those on traditional PPMs, it is still estimated that 53% have drastically reduced their energy use in recent months and 35% now live in a cold damp home as a result. [3]

Overall, the data obtained by TBIJ also shows that 895,739 customers were in debt to their energy firm by the end of June 2022, before the winter price rises kicked in.

Pre-payment meters could cost customers in excess of £200 more for their energy this winter. Recent investigations by the media revealed that energy firms have secured almost 500,000 court warrants to install these traditional pre-payment meters in homes of customers in debt since the end of lockdown. Smart meters can be turned to pre-payment mode without a court warrant.

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has called for a ban on the forced transfer of customers to all kinds of pre-payment meters. A spokesperson for the Coalition commented:

The new figures reveal the extent to which unscrupulous suppliers are forcing people onto more expensive tariffs by switching their smart meter remotely onto pre-payment mode.

Consumer groups and charities have long supported the roll out of smart meters as a way to help save energy and reduce bills, but these findings will undermine the programme going forward.

When customers in debt are on pre-payment tariffs they will repay their debts and also incur daily standing charges – on top of paying more for their energy at a higher unit cost. This can often lead to customers being “disconnected by the back door” as the cost of servicing debt and standing charges leaves them with no money for energy.

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition now advises any customers to check all messages from energy firms and if they are contacted about a pre-payment meter installation to contact the Good Law Project who are looking to challenge these transfers.

Jacky Peacock from Advice for Renters commented:

We are aware of some families who sign Agreements for the switch to PPMs without understanding what they are signing up for.

This affects people who are not fluent in English the worst, with many just thinking that this is a way to avoid big bills they cannot afford to pay.

Nobody from the energy industry explains that if they don’t constantly top up the meter to cover their debts and the ongoing standing charge as well as the energy they need, they could be left disconnected.

Ruth London from Fuel Poverty Action added:

MPs have recently told the Government that their constituents would die this winter – unable to access even light, a phone, hot water, or urgently needed medical equipment that depends on power.

They said they did not want to go home to a warm Christmas, leaving people who are ill or old to die in misery, or leaving children in the cold and dark.

They asked for at least a moratorium on this practice, which amounts to disconnection by the back door.

In response to the urgency of this crisis, the Minister promised to do absolutely nothing.

Graham Duxbury, Chief Executive of Groundwork UK:

Smart meters and pre-payment meters can be a great tool for people to take control of their energy use. In the current energy price crisis, however, forcibly switching people to pre-payment meters could have massively detrimental consequences, impacting on people’s physical and mental health.

Our Green Doctor energy advisers are seeing more and more households being switched to pre-payment meters because of relatively small debts.

The answer is not to drive people into greater hardship, but to provide more, and better coordinated, independent advice so that people can navigate a challenging winter without falling into crisis.

ENDS

[1] The Bureau of Investigative Journalism obtained the data through Freedom of Information requests to Ofgem. Data only available for Q1 and Q2 2022. Figures apply to England, Scotland and Wales only. The 46,082 households switched to smart meter PPM mode by suppliers in Q1 and Q2 2002 is more than the number switched to PPM mode in the whole of 2021 (43,072).

[2] 2,186 people interviewed between 20-21 December 2022. Results were weighted to be representative of the GB population. A vulnerable household is defined as having a child under 6, an adult over 65, a person who is disabled or with a long term health condition.

[3] Figures relate only to people on Smart PPMs, not legacy PPMs. 53% stat from previous research for Warm This Winter, which interviewed 2,198 people between 29-30 November 2022. Results were weighted to be representative of the GB population.

Immediate ban needed on forced pre-payment meter transfers

The devastating impact of forced transfer of households onto more expensive Pre-Payment Meters (PPMs) has led the End Fuel Poverty Coalition to call for an immediate ban on their imposition.

Energy firms’ licence conditions protect many vulnerable people from formal disconnection over the winter, however evidence from End Fuel Poverty Coalition members shows that customers in debt who are forced onto a PPM by their supplier will often “self-disconnect” and stop using energy.

Reports have established that energy suppliers are now using PPMs more often as a method of revenue protection. This includes:

Using court warrants – where campaigners believe magistrates courts may be “rubber stamping” warrants to install meters. Freedom of information requests revealed 187,000 such applications were made in the first six months of 2022 so it is difficult to believe these are approved on a case-by-case basis.
Inappropriately switching smart meters from credit to prepayment mode, thereby forcibly installing PPMs remotely.
Failing to follow due process, including assessing households for vulnerabilities, ensuring it is safe to install a PPM and ensuring customers receive the required warnings of the impending change.

Ofgem recognised that this is a breach of licence conditions and wrote to energy firms urging them to stop this practice. However, anecdotal evidence from End Fuel Poverty Coalition members suggests this continues to occur where it is not appropriate to do so.

The Coalition has called on the Government and Ofgem to:

Ban switching customers to a prepayment meter under warrant and ban switching smart meters to PPM mode without active, informed, consumer consent.
With rising levels of arrears and self-disconnections further support should be provided from Government and suppliers in the form of payment matching and debt write-off schemes.
Ensure that the combination of the price cap and Energy Price Guarantee eliminates the premium that PPM users pay for their energy.
Remind magistrates of their duty to consider warrant applications on their individual merits and end the batch approval of warrants for PPM as is currently taking place.

Jan Shortt, General Secretary of National Pensioners Convention, said:

Customers have an opportunity to discuss with their energy company the best way to resolve any debt. To override this option is in breach of the protocol for energy companies.

Customers must be the first to know not the last and must be protected from such unscrupulous energy companies. We have written to Ofgem to urge the Regulator to immediately intervene to ensure this is so.

Where customers do not see pre-payment as the right option for them, they must immediately be returned to their original smart meter plan.

Ruth London of Fuel Poverty Action said:

Imposition of a pre-payment meter is disconnection by the back door. When you can’t top up the meter everything clicks off, regardless of whether you are old, ill, or have a newborn baby.

Now smart meters are being used to cut people off supply by imposing pre-payment remotely. We were all encouraged to get smart meters and told they would help us save money. Some people always suspected they would be used for illegal disconnections. They have been proved right.

Pre-payment should be a voluntary option. Imposing it is violent, and in the present situation it is likely to swell the numbers of excess winter deaths.

Joe Cole, CEO, Advice for Renters, commented:

One of our clients who suffers from PTSD was switched from his smart meter to pre-payment without notice and came close to suicide before the energy company were alerted by us and put his account back into credit.

Jo Maugham Executive Director, Good Law Project, said:

Utility companies are repeatedly failing their supplier obligations and the customer safeguards that are in place, and are applying to the already overstretched courts for 10,000s of warrants a month to force their way into people’s homes to fit pre-payment meters. This puts people at risk of self-disconnecting and the health risks of cold, dark, damp homes. This is unacceptable and we are exploring legal routes to put a stop to it.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition added:

Self-disconnection is as dangerous as disconnection by any other means and energy firms need to be alert to the pain they are causing consumers by switching them to pre-payment meters without their active and informed consent.

If people don’t keep their homes warm, they are at risk from the severe health complications of living in a cold damp home and those who are elderly, disabled or have pre-existing medical conditions are especially vulnerable this winter.

ENDS

All sources and detail available at https://www.endfuelpoverty.org.uk/about-fuel-poverty/forced-pre-payment-meter-transfer/

Customers can contact the Good Law Project by emailing legal@goodlawproject.org