Disabled people’s organisations and allies have written to the prime minister to call for an immediate ban on energy companies forcibly installing pre-payment meters in the homes of disabled customers who have fallen into debt.
The Disability Poverty Campaign Group (DPCG) says the consequences of the government failing to act immediately on the widespread practice would be “devastating” for disabled people.
DPCG believes there are now about one million homes where someone is disabled and paying for gas or electricity through a prepayment meter.
If they cannot afford to top up their prepayment meter, they are not able to access energy in their homes, a process known as “self-disconnecting”.
DPCG points out in this week’s letter to the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, that disabled people in the UK are far more likely to be living in poverty than non-disabled people, with a recent survey finding two-fifths of them say they could not afford to keep their homes warm, compared with one-fifth of the non-disabled population.
And it says there is mounting evidence of energy companies seeking warrants – which must be signed by magistrates – giving them permission to forcibly install prepayment meters in the homes of disabled customers who have fallen into debt.
Please support DPCG’s prepayment meters campaign by signing this letter in the link below:
THE LETTER