Citizens Advice has responded to the conclusion of Ofgem's investigation into British Gas over prepayment meter installations, in a statement published on 15 May 2026. The charity's chief executive, Dame Clare Moriarty, said the settlement showed that the conduct uncovered three years ago carried consequences, and called for affected households to receive real compensation1.
The response refers back to the charity's January 2023 report, "Kept in the dark", which it describes as a landmark report on the issue1. That report found that more than 2 million people were being disconnected from their energy supply at least once a month. It also found that 1 in 5 (19%) prepayment customers who had been disconnected in the past year said they had been disconnected for more than 24 hours at least once, and that 1 in 3 (33%) people on prepayment meters said they had disconnected at least once in the past year because they could not afford to top up. Citizens Advice said this equated to more than 3 million people, or 1 person every 10 seconds1.
"Today's settlement with British Gas shows that kind of behaviour has serious consequences."
Moriarty said many of those affected were left without heat in the depths of winter because they could not afford to top up, and that those people deserve real compensation. She said the settlement helps deliver that and serves as a warning to energy suppliers not to put consumers at risk. She added that without proper support, struggling families can be left in really dangerous situations, and that Ofgem must ensure the closure of this investigation is a step forward, not the final word1.
The statement does not set out the amount of the settlement, the number of households covered, or the individual payments involved. Those figures have not been reported in the statement1. The rules on when a supplier can move a household onto a prepayment meter are set out in the forced prepayment meter rules, and the wider protections for vulnerable customers are covered under prepayment meters and vulnerable customer protections. Complaints and redress routes, including the role of Citizens Advice and Ofgem, are set out in energy complaints and redress.
Why it matters for households
A prepayment meter changes how a home pays for energy: credit has to be loaded onto the meter before gas or electricity is used, so a household that cannot top up can be left without supply. The figures Citizens Advice cites describe self-disconnection, where a meter runs out and the supply stops, sometimes for more than 24 hours1. For a household, that is the point at which energy independence is most fragile, because supply depends on a payment being made at that moment rather than on a standing account.
The investigation concerns how British Gas installed prepayment meters, including cases where customers did not consent. The distinction between a smart meter operating in prepayment mode and a traditional prepayment meter, and how credit is checked and topped up, is explained in smart meter vs prepayment meter and how to check credit on a smart prepayment meter. Whether a smart meter can be switched to prepayment without consent is covered in smart meter prepay without consent, and the costs of moving the other way are set out in switching from prepayment to credit.
Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and postal markets, and its consumer service can be reached on 0808 223 1133, or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers1. Its role alongside Consumer Scotland and the Consumer Council is set out in energy consumer bodies, and its profile of the supplier concerned is in British Gas.
What happens next
Citizens Advice says Ofgem must ensure the closure of this investigation is a step forward, not the final word1. No further dates, deadlines or next stages of the investigation are given in the statement1.