Carmichael warns against lax regulation of energy company actions on meters

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has today called on ministers to keep a “close eye” on energy companies in order to protect vulnerable families. Speaking during an Urgent Question in Parliament relating to concerns about households being unfairly forced to switch to pre-payment meters – which generally cost more per unit than other payment methods – Mr Carmichael highlighted the related issue found in the Northern Isles of companies refusing to connect meters to new build homes.

Speaking in the House, Mr Carmichael said:

“In Orkney and Shetland we have the highest rates of fuel poverty in the country, so the premium that is paid by the poorest people in my constituency takes a bad situation and risks making it catastrophic.

“We have another problem on top of that, and it is that we cannot get any of the energy companies to install meters in new build houses in the Northern Isles. So when he has stopped them installing meters in the rest of the country that people do not want, they could send some engineers to the Northern Isles to install the meters that new house owners there need.”

Responding for the government, the minister for energy Graham Stuart MP said:

“There are issues around this where the government has intervened, to make sure that the distribution costs in the far north of Scotland and the islands are not fully reflected in the price there. A special exemption has been made there.

“He’s right, I’ve also heard about the difficulties in getting a meter installed. It should not be beyond the wit of man for them to align and work together to make sure that it is run efficiently and that people can get a meter when they should, and I share his frustration.”

Reacting after the debate, Mr Carmichael said:

“Whether it is troubles in getting meters installed or pushy actions forcing others onto prepayment meters, vulnerable people are most at risk when energy companies are not tightly regulated. Ministers need to keep a close eye on these issues so that families are not paying more than they should be – or being left out in the cold.”