Yesterday Seema Malhotra, Member of Parliament for Feltham and Heston and Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers, called for the Government to take action on prepayment meters.
Her intervention follows revelations from The Guardian that more than 30,000 entry warrants were issued in January to allow energy suppliers to install prepayment meters.
In Parliament, she said:
“The Minister will know that prepayment customers, many of whom are the least well off in society, are charged a higher rate for their energy; that has been mentioned by Members on both sides of the House. Does he recognise the injustice of thousands more families being forced on to prepayment meters, on his watch, and on to higher rates at a time when so many are facing severe cost of living pressures? Does he not accept that it is time for him to step up and act further and faster, because this country needs that?”
Labour has led the call for an emergency moratorium on forced installation of prepayment meters to stop even greater misery this winter, while the government, regulator and energy companies fail to get a grip on this problem to tackle the hardship millions are facing.