SMART meter customers are being forced into using pre-payment meters (PPMs) after falling into energy debt, according to data published today.

More than 64 per cent of smart meter users switched to the more expensive pre-payment devices in the first half of 2022, a freedom of information request has revealed, as they were behind on payments to their energy supplier.

Most people on PPMs are vulnerable, with more than half having health conditions or disabilities, separate figures from the Warm This Winter campaign show.

In September, Citizen’s Advice found that PPMs could lead to customers paying £200 more for their energy this winter, while an investigation by the i newspaper revealed last month that companies have secured almost 500,000 court warrants to instal PPMs in homes since July 2021.

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has called for a ban on the forced transfer of customers to all kinds of PPMs.

Co-ordinator Simon Francis said: “The new figures reveal the extent to which unscrupulous suppliers are forcing people onto more expensive tariffs by switching their smart meter remotely onto pre-payment mode.

“Consumer groups and charities have long supported the rollout of smart meters as a way to help save energy and reduce bills, but these findings will undermine the programme going forward.”

Jacky Peacock of Advice for Renters said that some families had signed agreements to switch to PPMs “without understanding what they are signing up for,” a problem largely affecting those not proficient in English.

“Nobody from the energy industry explains that if they don’t constantly top up the meter to cover their debts and the ongoing standing charge as well as the energy they need, they could be left disconnected,” he said.

Groundwork UK chief executive Graham Duxbury said: “In the current energy price crisis … forcibly switching people to PPMs could have massively detrimental consequences, impacting on people’s physical and mental health.

“Our energy advisers are seeing more and more households being switched to pre-payment meters because of relatively small debts.

“The answer is not to drive people into greater hardship, but to provide more, and better co-ordinated, independent advice so that people can navigate a challenging winter without falling into crisis.”

Energy experts are concerned that many of the challenges faced this Christmas could reappear and even worsen next year.

In December, energy consultancy Cornwall Insight warned that gas prices could remain high until the end of the decade.