Scottish Power was granted 124 warrants by Berkshire Magistrates Court to forcibly enter homes and move occupants onto prepayment meters, according to the End Fuel Poverty Coalition1. The warrants were granted despite a ban on the forced transfer of homes onto prepayment meters still being in place, the coalition said1. Media reports cited by the group state that the magistrate granted all 124 warrants after examining just 20 of them in detail, and that one warrant was granted against a property in Grimsby, almost 200 miles away1.
The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has written to the House of Commons Energy Security Committee outlining more than ten concerns about the decision and requesting an urgent evidence session1. It has asked the committee to take evidence within the next 28 days from Scottish Power, the debt collection agency Richburns Ltd, His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and Ofgem1.
"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 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 entry 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 up1. Jonathan Bean of Fuel Poverty Action said the courts are failing to properly assess most cases1. Frazer Scott, chief executive of Energy Action Scotland, said the forced movement of people from credit to prepayment places an unacceptable level of risk to the lives of people1.
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 available 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 one, a household pays for energy in advance, and debt is typically recovered through deductions from each top-up, so credit can be used up before any energy is supplied1. The coalition's account states that people moved onto prepayment meters in this way can be left with as little as £30 credit1. For a household's energy independence, the practical effect is that control over when and how energy is bought shifts to the supplier and the meter, and running out of credit interrupts supply rather than building arrears.
The rules governing when a supplier can force prepayment meter installation are set out in Ofgem's licence conditions, and the court process for disconnection and warrants is separate from the supplier's own decision to apply. Where debt has built up, repaying energy debt through a prepayment meter is the mechanism the coalition says households are being pushed onto, and it has argued for a Help To Repay route instead1. The wider context of energy bills and energy independence covers how payment method affects what a household controls.
What happens next
The coalition has asked the Energy Security 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. No response from Scottish Power, the committee, the courts service or Ofgem to the coalition's letter has been reported1.
Sources1 cited
- Commons Committee asked to take urgent evidence on forced PPMs, endfuelpoverty.org.uk