Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:17 pm on 1 March 2023.
Thank you very much, Jack Sargeant. Thank you for raising this topical question and for consistently raising these issues over the past months and indeed years in terms of the plight of people in fuel poverty, forced now, more recently, onto prepayment meters without permission—shocking behaviour by suppliers. I just want to say that I will meet with you. I want to meet with you to hear more about your survey. I will share that survey, and I will raise these issues with Ofgem. I met Ofgem yesterday and I met the Ofgem board in February.
I also recognise that, when people like Martin Lewis describe it in this way, the possible rise—. I've been calling all afternoon, haven't I, for the UK Government not to make that £500 rise. I call on them again not to make that £500 rise in terms of the energy price guarantee. I pressed Ofgem when I met them yesterday about the most vulnerable households. These are the ones that are on prepayment meters and those who've been forced onto prepayment meters. I pressed them about their regulatory powers—were they strong enough, are they using them.
As far as the review is concerned into British Gas, which I asked them specifically about, they told me that they have an independent auditor looking at the issuing of warrants for prepayment meters, and also the remote switching, of course, which is happening, of customers onto smart prepayment meters. I asked them about other suppliers: 'You should be able to tell from court warrants—are there other suppliers?' They told me they were undertaking a review of 15 other suppliers to ensure their compliance with the regulations. I will, obviously, go back to them in terms of getting the outcome of these reviews.
Also, I made the point yesterday when I met them that they had what they called a voluntary ban agreed to stop the imposition of warrants for forced installation of prepayment meters till the end of March. I said that this has got to be extended. I called for it to be extended until the outcome of their investigations into British Gas and those other 15 suppliers. I called for it to be extended for as long as necessary.
Thank you, again, for raising these issues. Of course, I raised a number of other points when I met them yesterday. I called for action and moving forward on the social tariff, but also, again, going back to this point: 'If you haven't got the powers, we want to know.' We will support extension of powers, particularly around the issues about protection from disconnection, which, of course, in law you can't do in the water industry.