Compulsory installations of pre-payment meters should be banned because of the impact they have on struggling families, Scotland’s Children’s Commissioner has said. Bruce Adamson is urging the regulator Ofgem to take a tougher line with energy companies.
Mr Adamson said energy suppliers also need to do more to identify vulnerable households and provide them with support. In a letter to the regulator, the commissioner said pre-payment meters put needy families at severe risk of being disconnected.
Ofgem’s recent market compliance review identified weaknesses in energy companies’ practices, including failing to identify vulnerabilities before pre-payment meters are installed. Mr Adamson wrote: “I welcome the compliance review, and your intervention on pre-payment meters, but in light of the escalating risk to children’s rights to life, health and development, I do not think they go far enough.
