Citizens Advice Scotland responded to the Ofgem consultation on prepayment meters.

Ofgem recently consulted on the adequacy of rules and protections for clients on prepayment meters. The CAS response in summary was:

• Vulnerability is created by circumstances and the move to a prepayment meter can create vulnerability.  
• Definitions of vulnerability do not consider the outcomes of being made vulnerable i.e. the ability to adequately heat and power a home.
• Disconnection protections are inadequate for people who may be in vulnerable circumstances.  
• The suspension of forced installation of PPMs should be retained permanently.
• Forced switching to PPM through a smart meter should stop.  
• Existing protections need to be better enforced and more consistently applied across the sector.  
• Consumers must have improved and timely communication in order to get independent advice, make an informed choice and negotiate their position.
• Suppliers who install a PPM in a breach of these rules should be required to reverse the installation and recompense consumers for any loss.

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Consultation on revising Ofcom’s Network and Information Services (NIS) Guidance. 

Citizens Advice Scotland has responded to Ofcom's consultation on proposed changes to Ofcom’s NIS Guidance focusing on Incident Reporting Thresholds for the digital infrastructure subsector.

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Citizens Advice Scotland has responded to Ofcom's proposed plan of work for 2023/24.

CAS welcomes the opportunity to respond to Ofcom's proposed plan of work for 2023/24.

Overall, CAS welcomes the outcomes for consumers that Ofcom seeks to achieve when working to deliver "internet we can rely on" and we remain well placed to support Ofcom in delivering these outcomes. 

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A report into the experiences of Citizens Advice Bureaux clients on prepayment meters.

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In October 2022 eight Citizens Advice Bureaux (CABs) across Scotland held a series of focus groups with hard-to-reach and vulnerable consumers.

The aim of these sessions was to gain an insight into how the energy crisis was impacting on them, and to inform the development of a campaign to encourage such people to seek help and advice through the crisis.

The groups shaped the Big Energy Saving Winter campaign for 2022/23, and insights from them are in the attached report. 

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