§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will introduce legislation to ensure that domestic electricity consumers are not billed for electricity consumption who have been undercharged through the meter being faulty, where the meter has not been examined within the preceding 12 months; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerUnder the Electricity Bill a public electricity supplier will be entitled to recover from a consumer any charges which are due to him and may disconnect the supply according to the procedure set out in the Bill if payment is not made, unless there is a genuine dispute over the amount. In recognition that some consumers do run into difficulty with their payments, the industry currently operates a code of practice on the payment of bills which offers a number of protections against disconnection. Under that code consumers will not be disconnected if they enter and keep to an arrangement to pay off the debt by instalments over a reasonable period. The draft public electricity supply licence requires the licensee to produce a similar code to ensure that this approach continues after privatisation.