by BN Frank, Activist Post:
Worldwide opposition to “smart” meters (electric, gas, and water) has been ongoing since utilities started deploying them over ten years ago. In the UK, complaints about them continue to make headlines (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and earlier this week, a journalist recommended that consumers refuse them. Actually, that has never been bad advice!
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
From Yahoo UK:
‘Switch by stealth’: Alarming rise in homes with smart meters being cut off remotely
Political Correspondent, Yahoo News UK
There are growing reports households on smart meters are having their energy cut off. (PA)
Campaigners have called for action amid reports a growing number of households on smart meters are being cut off by energy companies.
A rise in the so-called ‘switch by stealth’ of people being forced onto pre-payment meters has been branded “alarming” amid calls on energy watchdog Ofgem to intervene.
Ofgem has said it has received reports of vulnerable customers being left without power for days or even weeks.
It has told suppliers they must address the issue “urgently”, warning companies it will not hesitate to “take action” if failings are found in how energy companies have operated.
Before smart meters, if a household fell behind on energy payments, companies would have to request a warrant to enter a household to install a prepayment meter.
These meters are essentially a pay-as-you-go arrangement: once the credit is used, a household will be disconnected and left without electricity or heating.
However, if a household has a smart meter, energy companies can now disconnect them remotely without having already installed a prepayment meter.
Smart meters monitor the electricity a household uses, and automatically send readings to energy companies – providing more accurate bills and clarity about the energy you’re using as you use it.
They also provide energy companies with a mechanism to switch direct debit payments to a prepayment system without a warrant.
According to data from Ofgem, more than 152,000 households with smart meters were remotely switched to more expensive prepayment plans for gas or electricity last year.
But Citizens Advice has predicted that 450,000 people could be forced onto a prepayment plan this winter – with 180,000 of them expected to be remote switches via a smart meter.
The charity also told the BBC that, so far in 2022, almost 500 people have been in contact in distress after being forcibly moved onto prepayment – a 158% increase in cases on 2021.
In October, the price comparison website Uswitch said it had seen a “worrying” increase in the use of prepayment meters, reversing a long-term downward trend.
Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, urged the government and Ofgem to protect customers from being switched by “stealth”.
“In a time of crisis, moving people onto more expensive pre-payment meters without their express permission is unacceptable,” Francis told Yahoo News UK.
