hungry or cold?

British electricity providers bully customers with prepaid electricity meters

Created: 12/22/2022, 12:35 p.m

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

Electricity and gas have also become extremely expensive in Great Britain.

(Iconic image) © Jessica Lichetzki/dpa/archive image

Like the Germans, the British suffer from the high energy costs.

There, social organizations are sounding the alarm because people who only receive electricity and gas in advance should now be freezing.

London – Energy costs have not only exploded in Germany: electricity and gas have also become extremely expensive in Great Britain, which was also hit by the cold spell.

And millions of Britons are already being asked to pay: They have a prepaid electricity meter – and that means they have to pay for the energy in advance by topping up their “electricity credit” monthly, usually either online or by post .

They have to accept much higher tariffs than customers who pay by direct debit.

Great Britain: People with prepaid electricity meters have to pay extra

British social organizations are now sounding the alarm because people with prepaid meters for electricity and gas are not only hit hardest by high energy costs - they are also disadvantaged by government aid programs.

"Households with prepaid meters have been hit hardest by the energy crisis because they have had to pay rising energy costs in advance from day one," quotes

Peter Smith of the aid organization National Energy Action.

"It's a more expensive payment method compared to direct debit."

If you can't top up your prepaid meter because you don't have enough money, you run the risk of sitting in your apartment in the dark, freezing - because with this system, energy providers can "switch off" electricity and heating through the back door, so to speak.

Smith fears that poor people would be faced with the choice of heating or eating because of the high costs.

"Some households simply do not have the means to charge their energy meters and stop using energy in their house," he says, according

to

This has serious health consequences.

For example, Samantha Pierre-Joseph from a London suburb is affected.

Until recently, she paid her electricity and gas bills by direct debit.

But then she quarreled with the utility company about a bill that she felt was unjustified.

The company then changed the payment method.

"About six weeks ago I came home from shopping, went to my kitchen, put my bags down and looked at the smart meter," says Pierre-Joseph.

"And it said 'Charge Now,' which was really weird."

Pierre-Joseph, who lives with her adult daughter, can now only use electricity and gas when topping up her credit.

In addition, she has automatically slipped into a higher tariff, she has to top up her meter with at least 69 euros every week.

That's why the central heating is now off - just like the lights on the Christmas tree.

"Basically all my appliances are off most of the time except for the fridge and the water heater," she says.

To save electricity, Pierre-Joseph only cooks every two days. 

High Energy Bills - Father: "I have a child to take care of"

The British government has decided to partially subsidize electricity and gas bills.

Those who pay their energy bills by direct debit automatically benefit.

But if you have a prepaid meter, you have to submit an application for it and will receive 66 pounds (about 75 euros) a month until the end of March.

However, according to a report in the British newspaper

, thousands of British energy customers with prepaid meters are still waiting for government aid, a third of them even for the £66 originally intended for October.

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My space

Glasgow family man Derek Mackay told the

his flat had prepaid meters when he moved in and as a tenant he wasn't allowed to change that: 'So I'm paying more for my energy.

Even if I don't use gas, I still pay £60 a quarter in ongoing charges,” explains the father-of-one.

His rent has also increased by 56 percent.

Mackay continued: "The Government currently gives me £66 a month but that only helps the people who don't have a big bill.

I have a child that I have to take care of.” Even if it doesn't really bother him when it's cold in the apartment, he still has to make sure that his child is warm.

"So I'm going to use a lot more gas and I'm going to have to pay a lot of money for that." British charity Citizens Advice has now called for a ban on switching to prepaid electricity and gas systems over the winter. 

There are also prepaid systems in Germany

There are also prepaid systems for electricity in Germany.

However, these are hardly widespread - according to the Federal Network Agency, there were just under 20,000 installed prepaid systems nationwide in 2017.

In addition, in view of the energy crisis, the government in Germany is planning to prohibit energy suppliers from demanding payment in advance from customers who are late in paying and from installing a prepaid meter with a limited credit balance.

The reason: These credit counters have so far led to customers being cut off from the supply as soon as the credit was used up.

With material from the AFP