Three big energy companies are set to charge their prepayment meter customers £103m more for their gas than those on quarterly bills during 2009, according to the National Housing Federation (NHF).

The NHF has calculated that, although prepayment meter customers tend to come from low income backgrounds, British Gas, EDF and SSE will overcharge their 1.7m prepay gas customers by £8.6m every month over the next year.

British Gas is set to charge its 1.1m prepay gas customers £77 more over 2009 than those on quarterly bills, SSE will charge £38 more, and EDF will charge £19 more.

In mid-December, the energy regulator Ofgem deferred taking compulsory action against the big energy firms after claiming that its campaign to persuade them to stop charging their prepayment meter customers more than others had been overwhelmingly successful.

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However, even though E.ON, Scottish Power and npower have equalised the charges they make to their prepayment meter customers with those who pay by quarterly bill, British Gas, EDF and SSE continue to charge their prepay gas customers more.

This is despite the fact that during 2008, the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Energy Secretary all promised that the Government would introduce legislation to outlaw the overcharging of prepayment meter customers if necessary.

There are six million prepayment meter customers throughout the country, with most of them coming from vulnerable backgrounds, such as single parent families, people with disabilities and those on low incomes.

Federation Chief Executive David Orr said: "It is an absolute disgrace that these three huge, profit-laden, companies are going to overcharge some of the poorest people in the nation by £103m during 2009.

"These fat cat companies have shown that they cannot be trusted to treat people fairly on a voluntary basis.

"The Government must step in now and introduce legislation to equalise prepay bills with those charged to people on a quarterly basis."

(CD/JM)