THE SHADOW Secretary of State for Wales Nia Griffith MP and Dawn Butler MP have this week launched the ‘Prepay Rip Off’ campaign in Wales to call on energy companies to deliver fairer tariffs for users of gas and electricity prepayment meters.
Currently customers paying for their gas and electricity through prepayment meters are spending between £260 and £330 a year more than those on the cheapest direct debit tariffs.
Prepayment meter customers are often in poorly paid jobs and many are put on prepayment meters to help them to budget; it is therefore outrageous that tariffs for prepayment meters users are so much higher than those for direct debit customers.
Nia Griffith said “The figures are staggering: a fifth of all households in Wales, some 273,000, are on prepayment meters. I believe that the energy industry is currently discriminating against these customers. We need reforms to the energy market to stop firms from overcharging. We have a situation where some of the most vulnerable – including the elderly, and those in financial need are paying more for their fuel than anyone else. This is outrageous and we are therefore calling on energy companies to act urgently to put this injustice right.
As part of Labour’s ‘Prepay Rip Off’ campaign, we want to see the following changes:
- Cuts to the cost of prepayment meters in line with the cheapest direct debit fuel tariffs
- An end to debt collection during the winter
- Measures in place to ensure that homes with pensioners, disabled people and children don’t have prepayment meters fitted
- An end to installing prepayment meters during the winter
- The prioritising of prepayment customers in the smart meter UK rollout
Dawn Butler added “I am delighted that Welsh Labour MPs are taking up this important campaign on behalf of consumers in Wales who are being left out of pocket. The Big Six companies need to be challenged on why prices keep going up when the cost of energy is at an all-time low. The Government need to take action to force energy companies to pass on these savings to consumers.
Across Wales, there are 273,666 households using Prepay meters, and collectively they are being overcharged by £61,848,516. This is money taken out of the pockets of those who can least afford it, that would otherwise be spent in the local economy on goods and services.”
Add Comment