The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has written to the House of Commons Energy Security Committee asking it to hold an urgent evidence session on the forced prepayment meter (PPM) warrants granted to Scottish Power, the campaign group said on 1 October 20231. The Coalition said it had set out more than ten serious concerns about the decision and asked the Committee to take evidence within 28 days from Scottish Power, Richburns Ltd, His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and Ofgem1.
Scottish Power was granted 124 warrants by Berkshire Magistrates Court to forcibly enter people's homes to force them onto prepayment meters1. According to media reports cited by the Coalition, the magistrate granted all 124 warrants after examining just 20 of them in detail, and one of the warrants was granted against a property in Grimsby, almost 200 miles away1. The Coalition said the warrants were granted despite a ban on the forced transfer of homes onto prepayment meters still being in place1.
The Coalition's spokesperson said:
"It is totally inappropriate for energy firms to be seeking to force their way into people's homes to push them onto dangerous prepayment meters in this way. This strategy leaves potentially vulnerable customers at risk of disconnection and going without energy."
National Pensioners Convention general secretary Jan Shortt said it was "interesting" that Scottish Power had warrants passed before 8 November, when Ofgem's mandatory regulations covering energy providers are due to come into force1. Warm This Winter spokesperson Fiona Waters said Scottish Power had been granted warrants to force its way into over a hundred homes, install prepayment meters and leave vulnerable people with just £30 credit, adding that prepayment meter users often have to clear debt before they can top them up1.
The Coalition said campaigners have previously written to Ministers to call for a Help To Repay scheme to remove the need for forced prepayment meter transfers1. The full letter to the Committee is published as a PDF1.
Why it matters for households
A warrant allows a supplier to enter a home without the occupier's consent and fit a prepayment meter. Once on a PPM, a household pays for energy in advance, and the Coalition notes that PPM users often have to clear debt before they can top up1. That combination, a meter fitted under warrant plus a debt balance to clear before credit registers, is what the campaigners describe as leaving people at risk of going without energy1.
For a household's energy independence, the practical point is who controls the supply. A credit meter lets a home draw energy and settle the bill afterwards; a prepayment meter stops supply when credit runs out. The Coalition's letter concerns whether the court process that moves a home from one to the other was properly scrutinised, and it points to the Ofgem regulations due on 8 November as the point at which suppliers' mandatory obligations change1. Complaints and redress routes sit with the energy complaints and redress system, and the wider framework is covered under regulation and policy1.
What happens next
The Coalition has asked the Committee to take evidence within 28 days from Scottish Power, Richburns Ltd, His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and Ofgem1. Ofgem's mandatory regulations covering energy providers are due to come into force on 8 November1. Whether the Committee agrees to hold a session, and what Scottish Power, Richburns, HM Courts and Tribunals Service or Ofgem say in response, has not been reported1.
Sources1 cited
- Commons Committee asked to take urgent evidence on forced PPMs, endfuelpoverty.org.uk