Monday 3 April 2017

Energy price cap for prepayment customers come into effect

Energy price cap for prepayment customers come into effect

A temporary price cap for prepayment meter customers has now come into force.

It is one of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) recommendations, following a two-year investigation into the energy market.

It found people using prepayment meter customers had less choice and were paying “disproportionately higher bills” than customers paying by other means, including direct debit.

The price cap is expected to help the average household reduce energy bills by around £80 a year.

It will remain in place until the end of 2020 when the smart meter rollout, combined with other changes imposed on the industry by the CMA, is expected to tackle issues that prevent such customers accessing the better deals available to others.

Andrea Coscelli, Acting Chief Executive of the CMA said: “Households across the UK deserve to get a fair deal on their energy bills.

“On top of a number of measures to get competition working better, the CMA’s prepayment meter price cap means that more than four million consumers, many of whom are vulnerable and who can’t easily shop around for a better deal, will see their bills cut by around £8- a year each, saving British customers a total of £320 million per year.”

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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