Through our advice line, home visits and one to one support, CSE supports thousands of people a year to reduce their bills and make their homes more energy efficient. More people are experiencing financial difficulties and higher energy costs.

This means that more people need our advice than ever before. During the last financial year, we helped people achieve financial outcomes of over £7m. Over £300,000 of this has been given to prepayment meter customers in the form of vouchers. This short-term intervention is in part designed to address the unfair premium that prepayment meter customers are currently paying.

Trust in the energy market is a fundamental requirement of a transition to a functioning future
energy system. The district network operators need the smart meter roll out to happen in a timely manner if they are to become system operators.

Many of the people we speak to no longer want a smart meter because they fear being switched remotely to prepay. This is very worrying when the smart meter roll out sits at 57% of homes with nearly half of the remaining homes having concerns about them. 

In our consultation response, CSE wholeheartedly disagrees with energy suppliers being given the power to restart forcing people onto prepayment meters (PPMs). Our response mirrors that of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition and we entirely support their well-thought-out position. You can read our consultation response on involuntary PPMs here.