Almost six in ten prepay customers worried about energy bills

Almost six in ten prepay customers are worried about their energy bills during national lockdown according to new research by Smart Energy GB.

The research found that almost two thirds (65%) of energy customers on a non-smart prepay meter claim that their energy spend has increased during national lockdowns caused by the pandemic.

The increase in energy bills is causing greater worry amongst those on non-smart prepay meters. Almost six in ten (57%) said that since the latest national lockdown they were ‘quite’ or ‘very worried’ about their energy bills.

Fflur Lawton, Head of Public Affairs at Smart Energy GB, said “Increased energy bills can be a worry for anyone, but we know there is extra pressure on people with prepayment meters, who tend to be living in more vulnerable circumstances.”

“Both prepay and credit smart meters offer the opportunity for people to take control of their energy use and start to understand the changes they could make in order to help them save energy and money at a time when more and more people are living with financial worries and difficulties.”

“The emergency credit function, which kicks in once your credit runs out is a function that respondents use all too often with half (50%) of those surveyed using this option once a month or more frequently. In fact, almost 2 in 10 (18%) said they use the function once a week or more.”

“Interestingly further gripes from non-smart prepay customers include things such as running out of energy at a bad time (30%), losing the meter key (10%), and emergency credit being more expensive (10%).”

Commenting on the research Peter Earl, Head of Energy at comparethemarket.com, said “Households on prepayment meters are likely to be feeling the effects on their budgets of a winter spent in lockdown when they are regularly needing to find the money to top up their meters to power their homes.”

“Unfortunately, with or without a smart meter, prepay energy customers are often on the most expensive tariffs. Our previous research found that prepay customers typically pay £94 a year more for their energy than those on a standard credit meter. For households struggling with the cost of energy we would encourage them to talk with their provider since many suppliers will arrange a transfer to a standard credit meter free of charge.”