British Gas has announced plans to help thousands of the UK's poorest households with a £250 payment towards their energy bills. The free energy credit will be made to prepayment customers who are struggling to top up their meters during the cost of living crisis.
The energy giant says the money is in addition to any Government support already announced and will be paid automatically to those who are found to be eligible. There is no application process to receive the payment.
The credit for some prepayment meter customers is part of a £10million support package announced by British Gas as customers struggle with soaring energy prices. Pay as you go customers are often among the most vulnerable members of society, with meters usually fitted when a customer has built up debt on their account that they are struggling to repay.
Prepayment customers face higher rates than direct debit customers and have no option other than 'self-disconnect' if they run out of money to top up the meter. Chronicle Live reports that earlier this month, Citizens Advice called for a ban on prepayment meters being fitted against customers' wishes.
Research from Citizens Advice showed 3.2 million people ran out of credit last year because they couldn’t afford to top up their meter. The charity estimates one household ran out of credit on their prepayment meter every 10 seconds last year.
It has seen a 229% increase in the past year in the number of people coming for help who can't afford to top up and, in 2022, saw more people who couldn't top up their prepayment meter than it did in the whole of the last 10 years combined. Those who pay using this type of meter have no power unless they pay for it first, so if they have no credit left and are unable to afford to top up, they are unable to cook or heat their homes.
This is known as self-disconnection, and Citizens Advice says it’s not just a one-off for most affected families, as more than two million people are being disconnected at least once a month. Newcastle Citizens Advice has previously warned of its fears that people could die in their cold homes as vulnerable families who have to pay for their energy in advance face winter.
"The energy price guarantee is £2,500 for an average home but the message we are getting is that this is massively unaffordable for some people, who are taking desperate - and dangerous - risks to keep warm," said a spokesperson from the CAB. "In winter 20-21, it is estimated that 6,000 people in England died as direct result of their homes being too cold, and energy costs then were around half of what they are now.
“It's shocking and desperate and we are worried that people are going to pass away simply because their homes are too cold. We are seeing a massive increase in people reducing the amount of money they are using to top up their meter or not topping it up at all, in other words self-disconnecting. This is very worrying and dangerous."
As part of its extra support, British Gas says it will ban forced remote switches to prepay meters this winter, unless a customer asks for one. The UK’s biggest energy provider will also run extra vulnerability checks and will install smart prepay meters so customers having issues can be identified quickly.
Chris O’Shea, chief executive of Centrica, parent company of British Gas, told The Mirror: “We know that some prepayment customers are self-disconnecting and not coming forward for help, so we have reviewed our policies to do more to target support at this group. As a responsible business we are doing all we can to support our customers during this crisis – our work with the British Gas Energy Trust provides grants and money advice services.”
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