ScottishPower introduced a facility in December 2023 that allows customers to request advanced credit for smart prepayment meters (PPMs) through the ScottishPower app, according to Energy UK's 2024 Vulnerability Commitment Good Practice Guide1. The guide, published on 1 October 2024, cites the feature among examples of good practice from suppliers signed up to the voluntary Vulnerability Commitment1.
The guide describes the ScottishPower development as having "launched in December 2023, which allows customers to request advanced credit for smart PPMs through the ScottishPower app"1. It appears in the report's third theme, which examines how suppliers stay aware of prepayment customers' vulnerabilities over the long term1.
ScottishPower is one of 13 signatories to the Commitment in 2024, alongside British Gas, E, Ecotricity, EDF, E.ON Next, Good Energy, Octopus Energy, Outfox the Market, OVO Energy, So Energy, Utilita and Utility Warehouse1. The guide states the Commitment covers more than 95% of the UK domestic retail market, and that all participating suppliers were found compliant with its requirements in the fourth year of monitoring1. ScottishPower, EDF and E.ON Next were singled out as having particularly impressed the Expert Panel across all three themes1.
The guide does not state how many customers have used the advanced credit facility, what credit limits apply, or whether the feature is available to all ScottishPower smart PPM customers. Those details have not been reported1.
"launched in December 2023, which allows customers to request advanced credit for smart PPMs through the ScottishPower app"
Why it matters for households
For a household on a prepayment meter, running out of credit means supply stops until the meter is topped up. Advanced credit requested through an app is a way to bridge a gap without leaving the home to find a top-up point, and without waiting on a phone line. For a home aiming at energy independence, the practical value lies in keeping supply continuous when money is tight or when a top-up cannot be made in person, rather than in changing how much energy costs.
The guide frames the feature within a wider concern: whether customers on prepayment meters who develop vulnerabilities after installation are detected by their supplier, not only at the point of accepting a meter1. It notes that consumer groups report a worryingly high number of PPM customers with mental health issues1. The Commitment's sub-commitments were amended during the year to reflect new Ofgem regulatory obligations following the PPM review1.
What happens next
Energy UK states it will work with the Commitment's Independent Chair, Advisory Board and signatories during the following year to review and update the Commitment, "to ensure it is still relevant and providing the protections for vulnerable customers it was intended to four years ago now"1. The Advisory Board was to meet twice more in the year to discuss common themes and the Commitment's future direction1. Steve Crabb's tenure as Independent Chair concludes this year, and Energy UK said it would look to recruit a new Independent Chair for the start of 20251. Utilita joined the Commitment at the start of 20241.
Householders wanting background on the supplier named here can read the site's ScottishPower profile, and a wider view of the market is in the suppliers hub.
Sources1 cited
- 2024 Vulnerability Commitment Good Practice Guide - Energy UK, energy-uk.org.uk