17 November 2008
Gas and electricity suppliers make over £500 million extra each year from customers on pre-payment meters, it has been claimed.
According to Consumer Focus, many of those on pre-payment meters are on low incomes and have got into debt over their energy bills, the BBC reports.
It has accused power suppliers of profiting from the poor and using the extra money to subsidise cheaper deals for other customers.
"The energy companies are making the most money out of those on prepayment meters and often those are the people on the very lowest incomes," said spokesman Jonathan Stearn.
Last month, the industry regulator Ofgem published the findings of an investigation into the energy market and concluded that low-income households are missing out on some of the most competitive deals.
Meanwhile, the Trades Union Congress is calling for a windfall tax on the profits of energy suppliers, with the money being distributed among their most vulnerable customers.