National Energy Action (NEA), the fuel poverty charity, published its response to the statutory consultation on changes to prepayment meter standing charges and other debt costs. The charity's publication page for the response to the Levelling the cost of standing charges on prepayment meters consultation is dated 16 January 20241. A second NEA publication page, covering the Changes to prepayment meter standing charges and other debt costs statutory consultation, is dated 17 January 20242.
Both pages carry the same statement of the charity's position on the difference in cost between payment methods:
"National Energy Action has consistently advocated for payment premiums to be eliminated in the energy market. Historically, our focus has been on the premium faced by prepayment users, which before the pandemic, was the larger differential."
Each page links to a PDF of the charity's full response. The document linked from the 16 January page is titled "NEA response - levelisation of payment method differentials consultation"1. The document linked from the 17 January page is titled "NEA response - Stat con levelisation of payment method differentials"2. The pages otherwise say only: "Read our response to this consultation."2
The consultation itself, and the government or regulator body running it, are not named on either page. The specific proposals under consultation, the closing date for responses and any figures for the size of the prepayment premium are not reported on these pages. The pages do not state whether NEA's response supports or opposes the proposals as drafted, beyond the general position on payment premiums quoted above.
Why it matters for households
Standing charges are the fixed daily amount a household pays for gas and electricity, before any energy is used. For a prepayment customer, that fixed amount is taken from credit on the meter, so it is paid whether or not the household can top up that week. A payment premium means the same household pays more for the same energy purely because of how it pays. NEA's stated position is that such premiums should be removed2.
The practical effect of levelling payment method differentials would fall on the fixed part of the bill rather than the unit rate. For a home on a prepayment meter, that is the part of the cost that accrues daily and can build debt on the meter when credit runs out. The pages do not give figures for how large the prepayment differential is now, or what any change would be worth to a household.
What happens next
No next steps are set out on either page. The consultation outcome, any decision on standing charges for prepayment customers, and the date such a change would take effect have not been reported on these pages2.
Sources2 cited
- National Energy Action (NEA) response to the Levelling the cost of standing charges on prepayment meters consultation - National Energy Action (NEA), nea.org.uk
- National Energy Action (NEA) response to the Changes to prepayment meter standing charges and other debt costs statutory consultation - National Energy Action (NEA), nea.org.uk