FUEL POVERTY AND PRE-PAYMENT METERS

That this House notes with concern that users of pre-pay meters (PPMs), who, according to Ofgem research, are concentrated amongst low-income consumers, pay as much as £123 per year more for their gas and electricity than other account-based users; acknowledges that PPMs can incur additional unit and infrastructure costs, but notes that this has not prevented some major suppliers from equalising PPM tariffs for electricity with standard credit tariffs; further notes with concern that recent price cuts from some suppliers leave most PPM customers further adrift from consumers paying by other methods; and supports the calls made by the National Housing Federation and housing associations to the major suppliers to align all PPM tariffs with standard credit rates to help bring low-income consumers in from the cold.