Energy giant EDF has become the latest supplier to suspend the forced installation of prepayment meters, following outcry over an investigation that found British Gas had sent debt collectors into vulnerable customers’ homes to fit the devices.
France’s EDF said it had paused the installation of such meters – which cut out and leave the home without gas and electricity if they are not topped up with cash – while it conducts a review of its processes.
The energy supplier, which has five million customers, says it only moves customers to prepayment as a last resort only when it is safe to do so.
“EDF only seeks to move a customer to prepayment without their consent as a very last resort and only when we determine it is safe and practical,” the company said in a statement.
“In 2022, we applied for 13,766 warrants in relation to domestic customer debt and in around half of these cases we took the decision not to proceed once the customer had engaged and we understood their circumstances.”