Margaret Mullane, Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Dagenham and Rainham, is today calling for an immediate moratorium for the duration of the winter on the forced installation of prepayment meters, which has left millions of people without power.

Research by Citizens Advice has found that 3.2 million people across Great Britain ran out of credit on their prepayment meter last year because they couldn’t afford to top up. Whilst protections are supposed to be in place to stop vulnerable customers being moved onto prepayments meters, there are serious concerns that not enough is being done by energy companies to identify customers in these circumstances before installing a prepayment meter, and that this is leading to a rise in voluntary self-disconnections.

During the selection process to choose Labour’s candidate for Dagenham and Rainham, Margaret Mullane made specific reference to prepayment energy meters.

Margaret Mullane said: “Prepayment meters are often cited by residents as the cheaper option if they cannot commit to a monthly charge, but the reality is that prepayment energy meters are an extortionate blight on communities like ours. Residents are paying anywhere between £7-£12 per day just to have the heating on. Prepayment meters should be removed across the board and replaced with a more reasonable offer for elderly retired residents and low-income households.”

Margaret added: “I’m pleased to see Labour has called for an end to the injustice of people on prepayment meters paying more for their energy than those on direct debits. With the cost-of-living crisis and more extreme temperatures in winter this is a matter of basic fairness for families struggling to make ends meet.”