British Gas,Scottish Power and Ovo dominate forced installations

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Woman tops up   prepayment meterImage source, Getty Images

Three vigor firms accounted for the bulk of forced prepayment metre installations past year, according to authorities figures.

British Gas, Scottish Power and Ovo Energy made up 70% of each forced installations, the information showed.

In total, much than 94,000 prepayment meters were forcibly installed successful 2022.

The signifier was halted aft it emerged that indebtedness agents acting for British Gas had breached into susceptible people's homes to force-fit meters.

Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps said: "Today's figures springiness a wide and horrifying representation of conscionable however wide the forced installation of prepayment meters had become, with past twelvemonth seeing an mean of implicit 7,500 force-fitted a month.

"Prepayment meters are close for immoderate people, truthful I bash not privation to prohibition them outright, but I bash person concerns that companies person not been treating their customers fairly."

The figures from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero showed that Centrica-owned British Gas installed 25,000 prepayment meters nether warrant past year, Scottish Power installed 24,320 and OVO 16,867.

The vigor regulator, Ofgem, said earlier this period it was extending the prohibition connected vigor companies installing forced prepayment metre installations, which had been owed to expire astatine the extremity of March.

Ofgem brag Jonathan Brearley said the prohibition would beryllium lifted "only erstwhile and if" firms travel the regulator's caller codification of practice.

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