Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 52
52
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 205
Replacing legacy prepayment meters with smart prepayment meters is crucial to protecting vulnerable customers in...
Conclusion
Replacing legacy prepayment meters with smart prepayment meters is crucial to protecting vulnerable customers in the coming months because they allow suppliers to identify customers who are at risk of self-disconnection and provide immediate support. Yet we are hearing reports that once again Ofgem is not enforcing its rules which require suppliers to install smart prepayment meters, rather than legacy prepayment meters, when customers are in payment difficulty.
Government Response Summary
Ofgem agrees with the committee's assessment of the benefits of smart prepayment meters and is committed to ensuring customers receive those benefits, but enforcement activity is currently focused on other areas due to resource constraints and traditional meter installations are decreasing.
Paragraph Reference:
205
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
Ofgem agrees with the Committee’s assessment of the benefits of Smart prepayment meters. Ofgem is committed to ensuring that customers receive all the benefits of fully working and interoperable smart meters, however enforcement activity is currently focused on other areas of work due to resource constraints. Larger suppliers have recently informed Ofgem that installations of traditional (non- smart) meter equipment is decreasing. Where a traditional meter is used for an installation or meter replacement, this is because the customer has specifically requested not to have a smart meter, or where a smart meter cannot be fitted due to space or technological constraints. Ofgem expects that new non-smart meter installations will further decline in the future as customers become more aware of the benefits of smart meters and stocks of traditional equipment falls.