Energy

If you are aged 75 or over, or have a child under two, energy suppliers will soon be permanently banned from forcibly installing a prepayment meter in your home. It comes as the energy regulator's current code of practice is to be extended, and become mandatory, in a bid to protect more households. Firms flouting the rules, which will take force from 8 November, will face fines.  

Brand new app-only supplier Fuse Energy – the first new supplier to enter the market since the start of the energy crisis – has launched an electricity-only tariff that undercuts the Price Cap. Crucially, the Fuse deal has lower standing charges, making it especially attractive for lower users – but there are some potential drawbacks to consider before you switch.

The maximum amount of compensation given to households and businesses that lose electricity power as a result of severe weather has increased from £700 to £2,000, as part of a raft of new measures announced by energy regulator Ofgem. 

Some Ovo customers with a smart meter can now earn £10 a month in bill credit by lowering their energy usage during peak times. If you can get it, it's a no brainer – but you should still consider and keep an eye out for cheaper fixed deals, as they could save you more money in the long term.

Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has been questioned by MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis about his lack of action to bring down standing charges and why he's yet to introduce an energy social tariff. On ITV's Good Morning Britain (on 19 July), Martin also grilled the minister on whether more support would be offered to vulnerable people this coming winter.

E.on Next will pay 500,000 customers £8 each in compensation after they struggled to get through to the firm on the phone last year. Below we explain who will get these payments and how.

Millions of Shell broadband and energy customers could be moved to a new provider in the coming months as the supplier has announced plans to sell these parts of its business following a "strategic review" – though there's no immediate change to your services and you should keep paying your bills as normal. 

Households on direct debit energy bills are likely to pay around 18% less for gas and electricity from 1 July, according to final price cap predictions shared today by MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis – see his full explanation below.

Around 18,000 Good Energy and Ovo Energy customers have been, or are to be, refunded and offered compensation after the energy firms were found to have charged some users more than the maximum rates allowed. 

Some households with Boost prepayment meters have been hit with unexpected extra charges – totalling hundreds of pounds in some cases – due to a billing error which meant they had been paying too little for their energy. Below we explain what's happening and your rights.