OVO Energy has suspended debt recovery until at least March 2023, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition reported on 1 December 2022. Under the suspension, all customer top-ups are used to pay for usage and standing charges only, not to pay off existing debts1.
The measure sits alongside a temporary ban on forcing customers onto prepayment meters over Christmas. OVO "insists the practice will resume in the new year"1. The company's commitments came in response to a demand from campaign group 38 Degrees, which wrote to all major UK energy suppliers asking them to stop forcibly installing prepayment meters and remotely switching smart meters into prepayment mode without customer consent1.
The context is a wider dispute over forced prepayment meter installation. Almost 500,000 court warrants to install prepayment meters in the homes of customers in debt had been secured by energy firms, and the House of Commons agreed to a motion put forward by Anne McLaughlin MP expressing concern that self-disconnection would leave vulnerable people without heat, light and cooking facilities over the winter1. The motion urged the government to outlaw self-disconnection1.
"OVO also highlighted its suspension of debt recovery until at least March 2023"
Matthew McGregor, chief executive of 38 Degrees, said the Christmas pledge showed OVO knew how damaging the practice was, but warned that struggling families "could still be facing disconnection by the backdoor come January"1. A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said the government must act urgently to ban any further forced installations of prepayment meters, whether by court warrant or by smart meter1. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the Commons the government would "continue to monitor the situation over the months ahead"1.
Why it matters for households
For a household already carrying energy arrears, the practical effect is that money paid onto a meter or account clears current consumption first. Debt does not grow while the suspension holds, and repaying energy debt through a prepayment meter is paused for those customers. Standing charges continue to be deducted from top-ups regardless, so a meter can still run down even when little gas or electricity is used; what standing charges cover is set out separately.
The suspension is temporary. The End Fuel Poverty Coalition notes it will only be a reprieve if debt collection restarts in the spring, when energy prices are once again set to rise1. Households wanting to understand how repayment is normally arranged can read the guide to energy debt and repayment plans. The wider question of how supplier practices affect a home's control over its own supply is covered under energy suppliers and energy independence.
What happens next
OVO's ban on forced prepayment meter installation over Christmas is stated to resume in the new year1. Debt recovery is suspended until at least March 20231. No date has been reported for a government decision on banning forced installations or self-disconnection.
Sources1 cited
- Pre-payment meters pressure mounts on government and suppliers - End Fuel Poverty Coalition, endfuelpoverty.org.uk