Bill Bullen, the CEO of Utilita Energy, has warned that projections show that over 2 million British households may find they cannot afford their gas and electricity bills, and as a result they may simply unilaterally choose to disconnect from the grid, without informing suppliers

When his company surveyed 750 random households, it found that many were still connected to the grid by outdated pre-payment meters which were not digitally connected to the internet, which would mean that if they unplugged from the grid, his utility would have no idea they did so.

He noted that if this occurred in large numbers, it could result in a surge of cold-related illnesses and deaths over the winter, and he urged all power utilities to make it a priority to swap out the older devices for newer smart ones.

He went on to say, “Having no choice but to sit at home without heating or light is unacceptable, and our government and the regulator must intervene immediately to stop self-disconnections.” He added that there is no reason to continue to allow so many “legacy” meters to remain in use, unless a customer specifically refuses a newer one.

Presently Britain is in the grips of one of the worst energy crises in its history, with millions of Brits grappling with extraordinarily high energy bills. Even as the government has allocated £16 billion ($20 billion) to subsidize household bills, the closing winter means temperatures are dropping, heating bills are rising, and the aid is not enough to lift the massive burdens on households.

The National Energy Action has warned that once new electricity tariffs, which will double, go into effect in April of 2023, 8.4 million Britons may fall into fuel poverty.