The number of households who were cut off from gas and electricity this winter because they did not have enough money to top up their prepayment meter has risen sharply.
For electricity, the number of customers with smart prepayment meters (PPM) whose supply was cut off – know as “self-disconnection” – at least once for more than three hours, increased by 25% to 269,351 in the first three months of 2023, according to data released by the energy watchdog for Great Britain, Ofgem. For gas, there was a 13% increase to 534,462.
About half of all prepay customers have smart meters, with the Ofgem data providing a good proxy for customers struggling to pay for their gas and electricity supplies.
Peter Smith, the director of policy and advocacy at the fuel poverty charity National Energy Action, said the impact of the energy crisis was still being felt across the UK.
“It is not surprising that self-disconnections are rising but that does not make it any less worrying,” he said. “Prepayment meter customers are often some of the most vulnerable. They are often laden with debts and left with no choice but to ration their energy use.”
Analysts suggest the number of gas self-disconnections is higher because government help provided during the cost of living crisis, such as the £400 energy bill discount, was normally credited to the electricity meter. Because gas accounts did not have the same financial support, the number of self-disconnections is seen to be a more accurate reflection of affordability pressures.
Ofgem cut the price cap on gas and electricity to £2,074 for a typical household at the start of this month, although most households will feel little relief.
That is because the government has withdrawn its universal support for energy bills. In addition to the £400 credit given to bill payers, its energy price guarantee, which temporarily replaced the price cap, limited average energy costs to £2,500. Both those schemes have now ended.
“The withdrawal of government support for more than two-thirds of all households means that this winter, energy bills will remain stubbornly high,” Smith said. “They are the same level as last winter and still over £1,000 per year more for a typical household than prior to the crisis.
“With the wider cost of living also having a big impact on household budgets, we are fearful even more people could be forced to self-disconnect this winter, unless the government provides more targeted support.”
