Moved by
Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes
53: After Clause 58, insert the following new Clause—
“Obligations on suppliers of utilities
(1) This section applies to suppliers of electricity, gas, water, sewage systems, telephony (including mobile telephony), internet connections and analogous utilities (“utilities suppliers”) and consumers of those utilities.
(2) Utilities suppliers shall provide consumers with the options of receiving bills in paper or electronic format.
(3) Utilities suppliers may not levy a charge on consumers who opt to receive bills in paper format, and may not reduce prices for consumers who opt to receive bills electronically.
(4) Utilities suppliers shall provide consumers with the option of paying bills by cheque.
(5) Utilities suppliers may not levy a charge on consumers who opt to pay by cheque, and may not reduce prices for consumers who opt to pay by means other than a cheque.
(6) In this section “cheque” has the meaning given in the Bills of Exchange Act 1882.”