Labour vows to end ‘outrageous’ energy premiums faced by prepayment customers

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Labour has today launched the first part of its plan to beat the cost of living crisis, with a proposal to scrap “outrageous” rules which see customers using prepayment meters pay a higher price for energy. Katie Schmuecker, principal policy adviser with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, told The Independent that equalising the price caps would “help correct the long-standing injustice of people on the lowest incomes paying more for their energy”. “To address the scale of the issue, payments targeted at low-income families must at least double, and the deduction of debt repayments from benefits at unaffordable rates should be stopped.” Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented: "Nowhere, apart from in Britain’s broken energy system, would people be forced into more debt and onto a more expensive tariff when they are already struggling with bills. Making life even more expensive for those struggling to cope on low pay or an inadequate state pension is absolutely unacceptable.” Following Thursday’s meeting with energy suppliers, Mr Johnson said he was “urging” companies to work towards easing cost of living pressures and investing more in British energy security.