Call to stop East Riding pre-payment meter users being charged three times more on energy bills
A councillor's putting a motion forward this week calling for action
People on pre-payment meters should not be forced to pay up to three times more for energy bills, an East Riding councillor mounting a call for action has said.
Minster and Woodmansey’s Cllr David Elvidge is set to call for East Riding Council to act on the issue when it meets this Wednesday (January 11).
Cllr Elvidge said he was concerned more people were being put in the perilous position of using pre-payment meters which also have standing charges on top of those for power.
It comes after energy price hikes last year saw the price of energy rocket for all households, including those on pre-payment meters.
The call also comes after East Riding Council’s Public Health Director Andy Kingdom said in November vouchers for pre-payment meter customers were being considered to help with the cost of living.
Cllr Elvidge, also the community empowerment portfolio holder on East Riding Council’s cabinet, said he worried for people on pre-payment meters who tended to be more vulnerable customers.
The councillor said: “This came about after conversations with debt advice services, particularly Citizens Advice, there seems to be a growing problem of low income people who are struggling to pay their bills being put on pre-payment meters.
“The problem is once people are on them it’s very difficult to get off.
“For instance, I’m aware of cases of military veterans who are younger and are working age but they’ve done three or four years in the military and it’s affected their mental health.
“They’ve come back and have struggled with money and they’ve found themselves in the very difficult position of being on these meters.
“It’s a problem for our society, we have a moral obligation to help people like that.”
Citizens Advice’s latest cost of living roundup from December showed energy debts was the most common issue people in the East Riding contacted them about between April and June.
Before the end of 2021, the top issue for people in the East Riding seeking help was consistently council tax arrears.
Figures for England and Wales showed the total number of people they have been aware of who were unable to top up their pre-payment meters reached 23,148 by November.
The total compares to 7,309 people who could not top up their meters up by the same time a year earlier.
Monthly figures show the amount of people who were unable to top up was rising by November, reaching 3,331, after a drop from September’s peak of 3,612.
The number of people unable to top up their meters by October was more than the whole of the previous five years combined.
Gillian Cooper, head of energy policy at Citizens Advice, said in November they saw the heart-breaking consequences of people on pre-payment meters struggling to afford energy.
Ms Cooper said: “People are cutting back on food and essentials to cover energy debts and living in cold and dark homes when they’ve simply run out of money to top up their meter.”
A House of Commons report stated pre-payment meter customers have historically paid more for energy compared to people on direct debits.
The Energy Price Guarantee introduced last year means they should pay a lower price per unit for electricity for the scheme’s duration, until March 2024.
But despite the scheme, pre-payment meter customers pay more for gas per unit and higher standing charges for it and electricity than direct debit customers.
The Commons report, published in December, also noted a rising trend in ‘self-disconnection’ and ‘self-rationing’ among those on pre-payment meters.
Self-disconnection happens when the customer does not have enough money to top up their meter, meaning their power cuts out.
Self-rationing is when customers limit spending on essential energy use or other necessities in household budgets so they can afford power.
The report quoted figures from the Fuel Bank Foundation showing around half of the people it worked with faced self-disconnection at least weekly in 2022.
Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures showing 72 per cent on pre-payment meters reported payment difficulties in October compared to 42 per cent paying by direct debit.
Cllr Elvidge, also the community empowerment portfolio holder on the authority’s cabinet, has tabled a motion which would require officials to lobby the government over the issue if passed.
It comes after East Riding councillors backed a motion from Conservative council Leader Cllr Jonathan Owen calling for a ban on people being forced onto the meters during winter.