Prepaid electricity

balcarce6

Hi,

Does purchasing pre-paid electricity protect you against price rises?  I am considering purchasing 6 months of electricity using the meter key but I will only do that if my electricity rates do not increase in October.  Prior to the last major price rise the meter tariffs remained the same until I purchased electricity and re-inserted the meter key.  I do not know if it was coincidental or not.

Thanks for helping,

Paul

MSE_Gary

Hi,

There was a lot of uncertainty around this before the last price cap change as unfortunately, information we were given by energy firms and the regulator proved not to be watertight. We’re currently working with providers to get clarity on this ahead of October’s price cap change, but here’s what we do know:

It is unlikely to work for gas with any supplier. In March Ofgem told us gas meters are made by Siemens, and while they don't record what the date of usage is, the key or card that people use to top them up can be preloaded with both current and new prices in advance of a cap change. This means the rate the meter charges for gas can change even without them being topped up.

With electricity, it MAY work depending on your firm. Back in March, Scottish Power told us it would not work for its customers, but other suppliers told us it would. Ofgem then told us a common position is "it will work, but if it costs them too much money, they reserve the right to back charge on this". We’re working to get all suppliers to 100% confirm their position on this ahead of the October change.

Hope that helps,

Gary

Gary Caffell - MSE Energy Expert

This question and answer came about during the MSE Forum 'Ask An Expert' event. It won't be updated so may no longer be correct at time of reading. This info does not constitute financial advice: always do your own research on top to make sure it's right for your circumstances.

Ask an Expert: Energy (Aug 2022)

See MSE's news story from March:

Martin Lewis WARNING: The 'top up prepay meters before April' trick may NOT now work for all