We asked witnesses about recent press coverage that had exposed the practice of some energy suppliers forcibly installing prepayment meters in people’s homes. Ofgem banned British Gas from forced installation of prepayment meters as of February 2023 and made a voluntary agreement with other energy suppliers which lasts until March 2023. Citizens Advice told us it was concerned about prepayment customers as the support schemes and the moratorium preventing forced installation end in April 2023.33 The Department told us it believed forced installations were well outside the rules that were in place for the treatment of vulnerable customers. The Department told us that the Secretary of State had written to Ofgem to look into this issue and that if it had been aware of the specifics of how British Gas was handling these cases, it would have asked Ofgem to intervene earlier.34 Fraud and error risks