Just three energy firms conducted 70% of forced meter installations last year

Prepayment meters allow customers to pay for gas and electricity on a pay-as-you-go basis and serve an important function by helping the avoidance of debt and court action.

In 2022, more than 94,000 prepayment meters were forcibly installed into homes, an average of 7,500 a month.

British Gas, Scottish Power and OVO Energy made up 70% of all forced installations with a total of 66,187 devices fitted under warrant.

However, an intervention from the government last month brought the practice was halted after evidence came to light of suppliers forcing these meters on vulnerable households.

The recent action from the government led the regulator, Ofgem, to launch a review into the use of prepayment meters in the sector. Companies have been instructed to revisit their past cases and offer redress, such as compensation, to customers where these meters were wrongly installed and regulations have not been followed.

Last week, the regulator also extended the ban on forced installations of prepayment meters until a new code of practice is agreed by energy companies, after British Gas was found to have broken into homes to fit the devices.

Energy security secretary Grant Shapps said: “Today’s figures give a clear and horrifying picture of just how widespread the forced installation of prepayment meters had become, with last year seeing an average of over 7,500 force-fitted a month.

“Prepayment meters are right for some people, so I do not want to ban them outright, but I do have concerns that companies have not been treating their customers fairly, over an already difficult winter during which the government has tried to help families by paying around half the energy bill of the average household.

“I will be watching Ofgem’s ongoing review closely, so customers get the support they need - and those vulnerable consumers who have wrongly suffered forced installations get the justice they deserve in the form of redress.”