When electricity prices change, it is initially the responsibility of the supplier to inform prepayment meter customers of the change in tariff. Where the customer has a modern key meter, the supplier can update the meter remotely so that the new rates are charged from the appropriate date, without physically accessing the meter. However, where there is an older token meter in the home, the supplier must inform the customer in writing of the increase and also inform them that they need access to their property to manually update the meter with the new rates.
If the customer does not respond to communication from the supplier and the supplier is unable to access the meter, it is likely that the customer will build up a debt on their account.
When this happens, it is npower policy to look into each case individually in order to find out whether it is appropriate to write off some of the debt.
We are currently phasing out all token meters and substituting them with modern key meters, which will reduce the need to gain access to properties.
