Hundreds of thousands of households with smart meters have experienced remote switches to more expensive prepayment plans over the course of the last six years.
According to The Telegraph, almost 350,000 smart meters were remotely switched between 2017 and 2023.
Ofgem is set to take action by proposing new rules to establish a “minimum standard.”
These rules aim to limit instances where energy suppliers can forcibly switch customers to pricier tariffs without consent.
However, campaigners have demanded a complete ban on this practice.
The data revealed in 2022, a notable drop of 61% was observed, with 58,977 switches recorded, compared to over 152,000 the previous year.
This decline coincided with the government’s intervention to safeguard consumers from escalating energy costs.
The measures taken included the introduction of the Energy Price Guarantee.
