The influence of electricity prepayment meter use on household energy behaviour

•Using prepayment metering for electricity provides increased feedback to consumers.•Budgeting and management of household energy use is influenced by prepayment metering.•System problems identified by consumers reduced the potential benefits of prepayment metering.•Prepayment metering encouraged extreme self-rationing of electricity among the fuel poor.•Increased regulation of market-led electricity prepayment metering systems in New Zealand could reduce present disadvantages.

Fuel poverty is a pervasive social and public health problem in New Zealand and households using prepayment metering are at increased risk. Although it is more expensive in New Zealand, households using prepayment metering previously reported high levels of satisfaction with using prepayment and increased budgetary control of energy use. This paper reports on a longitudinal interview study of consumers, who were either using prepayment metering or experiencing difficulty paying their electricity bills to explore how prepayment metering influences household budgeting and management of electricity use. Householders reporting sociotechnical interactions with prepayment meters were provided with increased feedback that influenced budgeting and management of household energy use. Unfortunately, this feedback encouraged householders experiencing severe hardship to take extreme measures when restricting their energy use. The study highlights that better regulation of the presently market-led electricity prepayment metering systems used in New Zealand could reduce the disadvantages while capturing the potential benefits of using prepayment metering for consumers.