Gas and Electricity Supplies (Hansard, 4 April 2000)

§ Mrs. Liddell

[holding answer 23 March 2000]: At the end of 1999 the Office of Gas and Electricity Management (Ofgem) asked energy suppliers to increase temporarily the amount of emergency credit (where this was available) to people using electronic token prepayment meters, so as to ensure that vulnerable customers would be protected from loss of gas or electricity supplies over the long Christmas/Millennium holiday period. For example, the amount of emergency credit available on Centrica (British Gas) after prepaid supplies had been used up was increased from £2 to £10. Ofgem decided that it would be unwise to publicise this measure—which would in some cases effectively increase consumers' level of debt because they would consume extra energy which would need to be repaid—and so the advance publicity before the holiday period merely encouraged customers to ensure that they had sufficient prepaid credit to get through the holiday, and advised them of the availability of charging points over the period.

In the event, a relatively small number of customers used a significant amount of emergency credit, such that some of the money they spent after the holiday to recharge payment cards was taken up in repaying this emergency credit rather than providing new supply. This may have come as a surprise to some customers—although the information displays on the meters would have warned them of the increased emergency credit level; and they were not obliged to use it.

The need to ensure continuing energy supplies to vulnerable consumers over the long Christmas 1999/ Millennium holiday period was very much a "one-off" problem, and the extension of emergency credit was designed to resolve any potential difficulties arising from it. The level of emergency credit has now reverted to the pre-holiday norm. Ofgem will ensure that if such a measure should be needed again, there will be a more proactive campaign of informing customers of the change.