Most people reading this article will be worried about their growing energy bills. Families across the country are facing the sharpest annual rise in the cost of living for 40 years, rises driven mainly by forces beyond our shores and consequently beyond the reach of the Bank of England’s monetary policy.
The government is doing an enormous amount to try to help, putting £22 billion into supporting people (and amount which incidentally dwarfs the £2 billion Labour are asking for with the windfall tax), but it is incumbent on every member of parliament to think about what else we can do.
Knowing that electricity and gas supplies in the worst-case scenario could legally be cut off is a huge source of worry. However, it is not the same with water, another essential household utility.
Following the privatisation of the water supply in 1989, the amended Water Industry Act 1999 prohibited the ability to disconnect water supply to domestic customers for reasons of non-payment. Water companies can take customers to court to recover money owed, but your house will always receive a water supply.
When British Gas was privatised and the first parts of the electricity sector followed in late 1990s, the same universal restrictions that would have ensured households would always receive essential energy supplies were not put in place.
There are some protections for energy customers overseen by Ofgem; energy suppliers cannot disconnect households over the winter months if you live alone, with other people who have reached the age at which you receive a state pension, or alongside children under the age of 18.
Some energy companies have also signed up to the Energy UK Vulnerability Commitment, which means your supplier won’t disconnect you at any time of the year if you are disabled, have long-term health problems, are struggling with severe financial problems or have children under the age of six living at home.
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have been working with Ofgem to make sure support is in place for households who are struggling.
This work is important and welcome. But I believe it could be strengthened further if we put a commitment to ensure energy supply to every household in law.
According to figures from Ofgem, one in seven customers self-disconnected from their energy supply during 2019. Self-disconnection happens when a consumer with a pre-payment meter does not have enough money to top up their meter and their meter cuts out, or when they do not realise that credit on the meter is running out.
The evidence shows that around half of those who are self-disconnecting (unsurprisingly) experience a negative impact. This could be a physical impact, such as living in a cold home, or an emotional impact resulting from the circumstances that they find themselves in.
In early 2020, Citizens Advice research found that 35% of respondents to a survey of pre-payment meter customers self-disconnected at some point during the year to April 2020. 43% of those who had disconnected had done so for an hour or less, around 30% for longer than three hours and 7% for over 24 hours.
A subsequent survey, again from Citizens Advice in mid-May 2020, found that 47% of pre-payment meter customers disconnected since lockdown began, which amounts to a 12% jump in less than two months.
Making sure that your energy supply cannot legally be cut off is absolutely not enough on its own to solve this crisis. However, I believe that alongside the government’s work with Ofgem it is an important step that we can take to give families some comfort that the worst-case scenario will not arise.
There is clear precedent from the water supply legislation which we can mirror. Making this change would guarantee that, no matter the circumstance, no one will be left in the cold or the dark this winter.
To read Laura's article for Times Red Box, visit: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/time-to-make-sure-energy-firms-cant-…
