Forced meter suspension will last for six weeks

The vigor watchdog has told suppliers to suspend forced prepayment metre installations for the adjacent six weeks.

In a missive sent to vigor companies connected Wednesday, Ofgem told them to halt forced installations and distant transfers to prepayment meters until the extremity of March 2023.

Ofgem said each home suppliers had agreed to bash so.

The regulator volition consult connected however firms should usage prepayment meters and whether the rules should beryllium changed.

Next week, connected 21 February, it volition people an update connected the scope and timelines of its Market Compliance Review connected prepayment metre warrant installations and distant mode switching.

Energy firms suspended forced metre installations aft it was revealed that British Gas agents had breached into susceptible people's homes to acceptable meters.

After the communicative was published by The Times, Chris O'Shea, the brag of Centrica which owns British Gas, told the BBC: "It is wholly unacceptable."

Ofgem said: "The vigor situation is nary excuse for unacceptable behaviour towards immoderate customer, peculiarly those successful susceptible circumstances."

It asked suppliers to suspend installations and reappraisal the usage of tribunal warrants to participate the homes of customers successful arrears.

British Gas said it would suspend forcefully installing prepayment meters until astatine slightest aft the winter. Wednesday's missive makes it wide that the suspension volition past until spring.

The missive reveals that Ofgem requested suppliers to halt forced installations during a gathering past week.

It made wide that: "For the avoidance of doubt, this includes ceasing installation by warrant, ceasing the distant mode power of astute meters to pre-payment without explicit statement from the customer, and ceasing caller applications to tribunal for installation warrants - unless theft is suspected."

Ofgem said immoderate suppliers had warned that unrecoverable debts could ascent if prepayment meters couldn't beryllium fitted.

That would summation their costs, suppliers said, which could successful crook pb to larger bills for different customers.

The regulator said it was examining intimately however lawsuit debts impact suppliers' costs and was moving to "determine what enactment we request to take".

There are much than 4 cardinal UK households connected prepayment meters. The existent rules state:

They could beryllium changed aft Ofgem's consultation, which volition see talking to vigor suppliers, user groups and charities to see the rules and guidance connected the usage of pre-payment meters, not conscionable during "the existent exceptional circumstances" but successful future, too.

Have you been forced to person a prepayment metre installed? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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