Pre-payment meter changes will save customers less than £1-a-week

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Planned changes to pre-payment meter charges will save customers less than £1-a-week, according to the UK Government.Tory Chancellor Jeremy Hunt pledged to reduce the premium rate for pre-payment meters in his Spring Budget last month.But a letter from energy minister Graham Stuart to Alba MP Kenny MacAskill shows that the change will only result in customers saying "an average of £45 a year".This means that customers will only save 87p a week or 12p a day when the change is made on July 1.Customers on pre-payment meters currently pay more for their energy use than those who are on direct debit.

Stuart wrote: "The Government will adjust the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) from 1 July to bring charges for comparable direct debit and PPM customers into line until April 2024, when the EPG ends."He continued: "This measure will remove the premium paid by over 4 million households using PPMs, bringing their charges into line with comparable direct debit customers and saving them an average of £45 a year."Looking beyond the end of the EPG, the Government will ensure the PPM premium is ended on a permanent basis. "The Government supports Ofgem’s ongoing work to review PPM costs and has asked the regulator to report by the autumn on any additional regulatory options, including options for ending the PPM standing charge premium, so that they are ready for implementation in April 2024."East Lothian MP MacAskill said the changes will have little impact because standing charges are so high.

A standing charge is a fixed daily amount customers pay for energy, no matter how much they use.Kenny MacAskill said: "Standing charges have rocketed but they've also exposed a Tory con.