Prepayment meters could cost UK households third of income in winter

Prepayment meters are concentrated among lower-income households, the thinktank said. Photograph: Jill Mead/The Guardian

Millions of vulnerable UK households on prepayment meters could see their energy bills consume almost a third of their incomes this winter.

As temperatures drop across the country, the Resolution Foundation said a combination of higher gas and electricity prices and the typical seasonal increase in energy usage over the colder months would hit poorer families most.