People on pre-payment meters, who are often on low incomes, can pay a premium of up to £90 a year more for gas or electricity than quarterly billed consumers. This often means that the poorest members of society end up paying more for the kind of services that most people take for granted. Figures published recently by the National Housing Federation showed that many households had to go without power over the past 12 months because they could not afford to pay for their energy.

To help address this problem, the National Housing Federation is campaigning for energy suppliers to stop charging pre-payment customers more than customers who pay by quarterly bill. The Federation is seeking to raise awareness of this issue during Energy Action Week, which takes place from the 1st to 5th September.

For further details see http://www.housing.org.uk/default.aspx?tabid=895