EDF remotely switched couple's smart meter to prepayment, cutting off their power supply

EDF Energy switched the smart meter of Susan and John Walker, who live in Perthshire, Scotland, to prepayment mode remotely in December 2022, and the meter then ran out of credit, cutting off their electricity supply¹. The couple, who are in their 70s and on Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks' priority services register, returned from holiday to a house that had been without power for two days, with temperatures below freezing¹.

EDF later explained that the smart meter had been switched to prepayment two weeks before and had then run out of credit, so the supply had been cut off¹. The couple paid by direct debit and had fixed their tariff for three years, 15 months earlier, and said they had heard nothing about a change to prepayment¹. A letter from EDF containing a prepayment card had been sent to their previous house, 65 miles away, and arrived in January, after the power was cut¹. Power was restored at 6pm on the day they raised it, after a couple of hours of webchat and phone calls¹. The couple were left with an £80 electrician's bill, the cost of eating out while the power was off and food lost from a defrosted freezer, and after haggling they accepted EDF's offer of £180 compensation¹.

EDF told Which?:

According to Ofgem, the rules for switching a smart meter to prepayment mode are the same as for switching a physical meter, even though it can be done remotely¹. Smart meters should not be switched to prepayment mode for debt collection without suppliers carrying out "appropriate assessments, including identifying any vulnerability", and the change should be a last resort after other repayment options have been discussed¹. Customers should be given at least seven working days' notice that their payment method will be changed¹. Because the supplier does not need to enter the home to make the change, it does not have to apply to a magistrate for a warrant¹.

For physical prepayment meters, suppliers must give seven days' notice for gas meters and seven working days' notice for electricity meters, and must get a court warrant to fit a meter covering energy use and debt repayments¹. The cost of a warrant application can be up to £150, though customers in a very vulnerable situation should not be charged¹. In 2021, more than 65,000 prepayment meters were installed under warrant, rising above 94,000 in 2022, according to government figures; British Gas, Ovo Energy and Scottish Power installed 70% of those between them¹. Between April and June 2022, more than 25,000 smart meters were switched from credit to prepayment¹.

Why it matters for households

The case shows that a smart meter can be moved to pay-as-you-go without anyone visiting the property, and that a household can lose supply without the occupier knowing the change had been made¹. Ofgem has told suppliers to check all recent forced and remotely switched prepayment customers and, where rules were not followed, to consider removing the meter or reversing the remote switch and paying compensation¹. Companies must now check previous prepayment installations and make amends, including compensation, where meters were wrongly installed or regulations were not followed¹. If a smart meter is switched to prepayment, the supplier must check it is safe and practical to stay that way, monitor for "self disconnection" where a customer does not top up and the supply stops, and offer Emergency Credit, Friendly Credit and additional support¹.

What happens next

All energy companies have said they will stop force-fitting prepayment meters in the homes of vulnerable customers, according to the government, and magistrates have temporarily stopped signing off warrant applications¹. The temporary ban will continue until Ofgem announces new rules; its chief executive, Jonathan Brearley, said the ban will lift "only when and if" firms follow the new code of practice¹. Ofgem is investigating all suppliers' practices for forcing customers onto prepayment¹. It is also asking people who have been switched to prepayment meters to share their experiences through an online form, open until 4 May 2023, or a dedicated phone line on 0800 464 3374¹.