Christian’s Against Poverty (CAP) has published an update to its ‘The Poor Pay More’ report from December 2015, which shows how self-disconnection is still a significant problem and explores new data showing how lack of internet access contributes to pre-payment users being unable to get the best energy deals.
The report update, entitled ‘Where we are: Pre-payment meters, self-disconnection and Internet access’, also highlights initiatives from EON and British gas which make positive steps forward. It is based on findings from a survey of over 900 CAP clients just over a year on from the original report, and indicates that there remains a pressing need for more to be done to help some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in society. Some of those surveyd were only using their heating for a few days a month during winter but falling under the radar of typical self-disconnection monitoring processes. The update also contains new research on the level of digital exclusion amongst pre-payment customers and raises concerns about the implications of increasing digital demands on energy customers.