Three energy firms accounted for the majority of forced prepayment meter installations last year, according to government figures.
British Gas, Scottish Power and Ovo Energy made up 70% of all forced installations, the data showed.
In total, more than 94,000 prepayment meters were forcibly installed in 2022.
The practice was halted after it emerged that debt agents acting for British Gas had broken into vulnerable people’s homes to force-fit meters.
The energy regulator, Ofgem, said earlier this month that it was extending the ban on forced installations, which had been due to expire at the end of March.
Ofgem boss Jonathan Brearley said the ban would be lifted “only when and if” energy companies follow the regulator’s new code of practice.
Customers using prepayment meters pay a higher price for their gas and electricity, although in this month’s Budget the government said it would bring the charges in line with customers who pay by direct debit from the beginning of July.
However, there is also concern that at a time of high energy costs, people on prepayment meters will “self-disconnect” if they cannot afford to keep the meter topped up.
How can a pre-payment meter be removed?
Once a pre-payment meter is installed it can be very difficult to have it removed, and there is no automatic review process to see if it’s still the most appropriate payment method.
Many properties have a prepayment meter, or a smart meter in prepay mode because of a transfer of a previous tenant or owner, and it can be a slow and difficult process to be transferred.
Each supplier has a different procedure, they are likely to do a credit check, and may ask for a deposit of around £300 to remove the physical box.
It’s often a shorter process for those happy to have a smart meter installed instead as companies may feel more confident customers will pay as the smart meter could be flipped back into prepayment mode.
Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Today’s figures give a clear and horrifying picture of just how widespread the forced installation of prepayment meters had become, with last year seeing an average of over 7,500 force-fitted a month.
“Prepayment meters are right for some people, so I do not want to ban them outright, but I do have concerns that companies have not been treating their customers fairly.”
The figures from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero showed that Centrica-owned British Gas installed 25,000 prepayment meters under warrant last year, Scottish Power installed 24,320 and OVO 16,867.
Gillian Cooper, head of energy policy at Citizens Advice, said the figures from the government were “more evidence of the troubling scale of the problem”. “The stress, anxiety and hardship often caused by forced prepayment meter installations cannot be overestimated.”
