London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Forced installation of prepayment meters banned for over 85s and those with conditions worsened by cold

Forced installation of prepayment meters banned for over 85s and those with conditions worsened by cold

Ofgem's new code of practice for prepayment meters will extend protections, but has been criticised for not covering more vulnerable households.
Energy firms installing prepayment meters will be required to try to contact a customer at least ten times and conduct a "site welfare visit" before forcibly conducting the installation, new guidelines will say.

Energy company workers will also be required to wear body cameras or sound recorders to make sure new energy regulator rules that govern prepayment meter installations are being adhered to.

Ofgem's new code of practice for prepayment meters will outright ban forcibly installing prepayment meters in the homes of people with a terminal illness and those aged 85 and older who don't have someone to care for them.

People with a health condition that would be worsened by living in a cold home - such as emphysema and sickle cell disease - will also be protected from forced installation, as will people who require a continuous supply of electricity for medical equipment.

Under existing rules, meters are not to be installed in the homes of vulnerable customers. But an investigation by The Times newspaper found debt collectors working for British Gas had forced their way into the homes of vulnerable customers.

The head of British Gas parent company Centrica apologised on Sky News after the report came to light.

The rules around prepayment meters have been revised in consultation with government, stakeholders and industry after the scandal emerged.

In February Ofgem asked suppliers to temporarily suspend the practice of forced installation and review their processes for dealing with customers who have fallen into arrears.

Prepayment meters are pay-as-you-go devices that require top-up payments to provide gas and electricity to a home. Energy providers install the meters to customers who are in debt to avoid them amassing higher bills.

If payments are not made, no power is supplied. In an effort to prevent households being immediately without power, £30 credit will be given under the new rules.

The top-up payments are more expensive than paying bills, something Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said would end in July.

Official figures showed more than 94,000 meters were installed in homes in Britain throughout 2022.

Ofgem will announce full details of the code of practice, which firms have agreed to be bound by, on Tuesday morning.

But the new guidelines, originally reported in The Guardian newspaper, have fallen short of some groups' expectations.

Disability equality charity Scope, said: "This process will still allow energy companies to install prepayment meters in some disabled households".

"We want to see the forced installation of meters and remote switching banned outright for disabled people," Tom Marsland, Scope policy manager said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×