The UK government has ordered energy suppliers to stop forcing low-income households to install prepaid energy meters. It writes Bloomberg. According to the government, the meter should only be used as a last resort.

“Suppliers knowingly force low-income people to install such meters before they even offer any support households deserve,” said Secretary of State for Energy Grant Shapps. “I refuse to believe that all alternatives have been considered.”

Read also | UK restarts three coal-fired power plants

The government intervention comes just over a week after a Citizens Advice report showed that gas suppliers forced more than 600,000 households to replace their existing credit meters with prepaid meters as those households struggled to pay their bills. Many of these households did not want to switch, but were ordered to do so by court order.

4 million households

In total, there are around 4 million households in the UK using prepaid meters. However, such a system often creates bigger financial problems for households, as electricity is often made more expensive due to a lack of good deal through the meter. Partly as a result, more than 3 million people in the UK are without electricity for a while or longer.

Read also | Britain could invest £300 million in steel companies

With inflation hitting record highs and wages failing to keep pace, Britons are struggling to make ends meet. Especially now that electricity tariffs are more than three times higher than the previous year.