Wednesday 23 November 2022 10:26 AM Do smart meters make it easier to force people to pre-pay? trends now

Lisa Bonner was getting ready for the school run on a crisp morning two months ago when an email from her energy supplier popped up on her phone.

The message sent her into a panic. EDF was writing to inform her that the supply to her three-bedroom semi had been switched to a so-called prepayment meter.

That meant from then on, the mother of three and her husband Nick, 51, would have to keep their account topped-up at all times — or their power might be cut off suddenly.

Not only that, but their bills were likely to be even higher because the pay-as-you-go prepayment tariff would be pricier than their old one.

The worst part? The 45-year-old, who is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, hadn't given EDF her permission for the switch.

The firm was able to take matters into its own hands because Lisa had agreed to install a smart meter in her home six months previously.

Thanks to the high-tech devices — which show your energy usage in real time and send meter readings automatically to suppliers — energy firms can switch customers on to different tariffs remotely.

And, crucially, if a household does not pay, gets into debt or fails to pay bills on time, the supplier can use a smart meter to turn off their power. All it takes is the click of a button in an office hundreds of miles away.

By the end of this winter, consumer charity Citizens Advice estimates 180,000 households will have been switched to prepayment plans via their smart meter.

Suppliers say they are doing this to stop families running up large debts. The average dual-fuel energy bill has risen to £2,500 a year — or more than £200 a month — and many families are expected to struggle to keep up payments.

While moving customers to prepayment meters could help them manage their outgoings, it will also make homes vulnerable to being cut off.

In simple terms, that means the risk of blackouts if they cannot afford to top-up their account balance regularly.

In the industry, switching customers onto prepayment plans is confusingly referred to as 'self-disconnection'.

Citizens Advice says it has heard from 500 people who have been pushed onto prepayment meters this year — a 158 per cent rise on the same period in 2021.

In one case, a single mother with a young baby was moved remotely onto a prepayment plan while on maternity leave.

It meant she could not even boil the kettle to make bottles for her child and spent the night in the dark.

Some households have already been left without lights and heating for weeks at a time, according to regulator Ofgem.

An Ofgem spokesman says: 'In extreme cases the reports we've received suggest this has led to some vulnerable customers being left without power for days or even weeks. This is completely unacceptable.'

Prepayment energy plans mean that customers have to top up their accounts themselves when their balance runs low.

With a smart meter, this is online via an app. Or households can use a prepayment keycard which can be topped up in post offices and PayPoint zones, often located in newsagents. The tariffs are more expensive, too.

Prepayment customers will spend an estimated £258 more on their energy this winter than someone paying by direct debit, according to research from Citizens Advice.

In the past, suppliers had to send staff round to a customer's house if they were in debt and the company wanted to change their payment plan.

But the widespread adoption of smart meters means firms no longer have to come face-to-face with the people that they are cutting off.

Firms typically try to move customers to prepayment plans only once they have fallen into debt on their accounts set up with a direct debit, and the supplier is

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