Prepayment meters
What are they?
Prepayment meters (PPMs) are widely used in the UK, especially in rented properties. Instead of paying a steady monthly bill by direct debit, PPMs are pay-as-you-go, usually by topping up a card or a key at a local shop to insert into your meter.
Some of us prefer to budget this way, often we have never known any different. However, prepayment meters come with dangers. When your meter runs out, everything clicks off without warning – the home is plunged into darkness, water stops during a shower, your fridge-freezer loses power while you sleep or your landline phone turns off in an emergency. These occurrences are at best a nuisance but, particularly for elderly or disabled people, can be deadly at worst.
Forced PPMs
Everyone should have choice and access to a method of payment that is safe and suitable for them. But if, like millions of people in the UK right now, you can’t afford your energy bills and fall into debt, your supplier may attempt to force you onto a PPM. Suppliers do this by obtaining warrants to break into homes, but nowadays can also switch smart meters to prepayment remotely.
If you are facing this issue, help is available from Citizens Advice.
Campaigning
FPA has campaigned for years against the forced imposition of PPMs. We have disrupted a British Gas Annual General Meeting (AGM), held Warm Up protests in buildings including the British Museum and Scottish Parliament, and delivered a giant PPM to the door of the Department of Energy Security.
In February 2023, following months of campaigning in response to energy suppliers breaching regulations and forcibly installing PPMs en masse, FPA helped force the government to place a suspension on the practice. This remained in place across the energy sector for 11 months, but during 2024 and 2025 Ofgem has been granting permission to individual suppliers to begin forced installations again if they are deemed to have met new, weak regulations.
FPA is continuing to demand the government ban forced PPMs.
Read article: Hydrogen as a False Low-Carbon ‘Solution’
Hydrogen as a False Low-Carbon ‘Solution’
The Labour Government’s plans for a low-carbon transition are not fit for purpose. FPA member Lee Towers has put together this factsheet, which outlines what hydrogen is and why it is not an efficient or cheap solution to home heating.
Read article: April 17, 2025: Make your union work for you
April 17, 2025: Make your union work for you
A discussion on trade unions, for union members: a chance to share your experiences of unions, hear from trade unionists with decades of experience between them, and ask them anything, days before May Day.
Read more about April 17, 2025: Make your union work for you
Read article: Energy For All Petition Hand-in
Energy For All Petition Hand-in
On October 1st 2024, the day our energy bills went up AGAIN, we delivered the Energy For All petition, signed by over 662,500 of you, to the door of Number 10. Meanwhile, Fuel Poverty Action members across the country went on the radio and social media to spread the word about Energy For All. On […]
Hydrogen as a False Low-Carbon ‘Solution’
The Labour Government’s plans for a low-carbon transition are not fit for purpose. FPA member Lee Towers has put together this factsheet, which outlines what hydrogen is and why it is not an efficient or cheap solution to home heating.
Energy For All Petition Hand-in
On October 1st 2024, the day our energy bills went up AGAIN, we delivered the Energy For All petition, signed by over 662,500 of you, to the door of Number 10. Meanwhile, Fuel Poverty Action members across the country went on the radio and social media to spread the word about Energy For All. On […]
FPA release 2024 Annual Report
Our Annual Report for 2023-24 is out now! The last year saw important wins for fuel poverty campaigners, with ongoing campaign actions such as ‘warm-ups’ (occupying local buildings together to keep warm) helping to secure a partial ban on forced installations of prepayment meters. But it also saw fresh cruelty from the political class, with […]
