It is imperative that prepayment meter (PPM) customers continue to receive protection. It is therefore clear that the prepayment cap must continue after its upcoming termination in the form of a CMA regulated cap.

NEA recognises that many low-income households experience affordability issues with their essential household bills, rarely struggling with one bill in isolation, and as a result is delivering a programme of work which seeks to support ‘People Living in Water Poverty and Fuel Poverty’.

It is imperative that prepayment meter (PPM) customers continue to receive protection. The CMA stated in its initial ruling of the energy market investigation that PPM customers have higher actual and perceived barriers to switching that arise from both lack of internet connectivity and the need to physically change meter to switch to a wider range of tariffs.

Over the last year, NEA, alongside other consumer groups, worked with Ofgem to secure some key improvements in the treatment of domestic customers. In particular, we worked to ensure that low income and vulnerable customers had adequate protections in gas and electricity markets.

The proposals made in this consultation will undoubtedly have a material affect on the number of customers that self-disconnect and self-ration. They are broadly in line with a number of suggestions that NEA made within our response to the preceding “Prepayment Self-Disconnection and Self-Rationing: A Call for Evidence”.

NEA believes dramatically improving domestic energy efficiency levels remains the most enduring solution to addressing energy affordability, however, we also know other key actions are required in retail energy markets to safeguard vulnerable domestic customers, particularly those living on the lowest incomes.