Stephen Metcalfe, MP for South Basildon & East Thurrock, has strongly welcomed the end of the Prepayment Meter Premium which previously allowed energy companies to charge prepayment customers a premium for their energy usage.
As part of his 2023 Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has announced that the Government will scrap the premium rate paid by over 4 million households using prepayment meters for their energy needs. This will ensure fairness for all bill-payers.
The Government will end the prepayment premium by adjusting the Energy Price Guarantee from 1 July 2023. On average, the end of the prepayment premium will save customers £45 a year on their energy bills.
This comes in addition to other measures announced by the Government in the Spring Budget which aim to secure Britain’s energy market. This includes an extension of the Energy Price Guarantee until June 2023, a £20 billion investment in the carbon capture industry and the launch of Great British Nuclear which will organise a competition to encourage the construction of Small Modular Reactors in the UK by domestic and international vendors.
Stephen Metcalfe said: “It’s great news that the prepayment meter premium is ending this year. This means a lot for my constituents. Following the Covid pandemic, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent rise in energy prices, the unfairness of the prepayment premium has been highlighted.
The Government is doing a lot to help people with their energy bills this year and I am confident that the Government has the right priorities.”
