MP joins campaign to cut costs of meter pre-payment

He joined Labour MP colleague Dawn Butler for the launch of the Pre-Pay Rip-Off campaign, which is calling for action from the Big Six energy companies and the government.

One in five pre-payment meter users are already in fuel poverty and new Citizens Advice Bureau research has showed pre-payment meter customers pay on average £226 a year more for their energy than the cheapest direct debit tariff.

In Mr Healey’s Wentworth and Dearne constituency this means nearly £2 million being taken out of the pockets of more than 8,600 families who can least afford it.

The MP said: “It is unacceptable that the poorest in our society are forced to pay the most for their energy bills. The cost of pre-payment meters must be cut.

“Everyone's energy bills should be coming down instead of going up, with the cost of wholesale energy falling. The government need to take action to force energy companies to pass on savings to consumers.”

A petition linked to the campaign can be found at http://chn.ge/1P83QSC.