The Guardian reported Monday that British Gas can resume fitting prepayment meters under court warrants this winter, reopening a household debt-recovery route after a 2023 restriction by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). Prepayment meters require customers to pay for energy before using it.
Ofgem’s rules require suppliers to make at least 10 attempts to contact customers, consider other ways to repay debt and visit the home before installation. The rules prohibit installations in specified cases, including households with a child under age 2 or a person with a severe health condition. Other exclusions cover homes where everyone is at least 75 and no one else can provide support, as well as households with someone dependent on powered medical equipment.
Ofgem issued a provisional order on Feb. 2, 2023, requiring British Gas to cease warrant installations immediately; it later accepted legally enforceable undertakings barring a restart until Sept. 30, 2023, unless released earlier. The regulator’s investigation found the company failed to meet required standards and breached license conditions intended to protect vulnerable customers.
Under a May settlement, British Gas agreed to pay £20 million into the Voluntary Redress Fund, write off up to £70 million in energy debt for vulnerable customers, compensate some customers affected from 2018 to 2021, and complete the remaining portion of a £22.4 million support package launched in 2023.
An Ofgem review published Oct. 28 found early evidence that severe self-disconnection had fallen 36%. The regulator said household debt and arrears rose after the February 2023 halt and remained elevated; a full impact evaluation is underway.
British Gas told The Guardian it would contact customers early, offer flexible repayment options where possible and treat involuntary installations as a last resort. Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said magistrates continue to consider groups of warrant applications together and that problems identified in earlier investigations have not all been resolved.
