Ofgem’s announcement – new prepayment meter Code of Practice

Following today’s announcement from Ofgem, the conditions of the code will be legally enforceable and apply to energy firms and any contractors.

It states that before PPM can be involuntarily installed suppliers must:

• Make at least 10 attempts to contact a customer before a prepayment meter is installed
• Carry out a site welfare visit before a prepayment meter is installed
• Refrain from all involuntary installations for the highest risk customers including:
  • • Households which require a continuous supply for health reasons, including dependence on powered medical equipment
    • Households where all occupants are aged 75 years and over (if there is no other support in the house)
    • Households with children aged under 2 years old
    • Households with residents with severe health issues including terminal illnesses or those with a medical dependency on a warm home (for example due to illness such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, sickle cell disease)
    • Where there is no one within the household that has the ability to top up the meter due to physical or mental incapacity
• Audio or body cameras must be worn by the lead supplier representative present on all warrant installations or site welfare visits to check for vulnerabilities ahead of an involuntary installation or remote mode switch.
• All audio and footage will be available for audit
• Give a £30 credit per meter (or equivalent non-disconnection period) on all warrant installations and remote switches as a short-term credit/measure to remove the risk of customers going off supply at the point of PPM meter installation.
• Re-assess the case once a customer has repaid debts owed. Suppliers must contact the customer to offer assessment of whether a prepayment meter remains the most suitable and preferred payment method of choice for consumers; if any prepayment meter customer is clear of debt and wishes to move off their prepayment meter (understanding any changes in the tariff they will pay), the supplier must agree where the customer passes any required credit checks.