Ofgem has told energy suppliers to stop forcibly installing pre-payment gas and electricity meters after The Times highlighted the actions of contractors employed by Centrica PLC (LSE:CNA)-owned British Gas.
An undercover journalist at the paper found the company's debt collectors were breaking into vulnerable customers' homes to install meters.
Jonathan Brearley, the energy regulator’s head, said after reading the report it had now ordered all suppliers to review court orders regarding meters.
Prepayment meters force people to pay for energy in advance either through cash or on a credit card and their use has surged as the cost of gas and electricity has rocketed.
British Gas boss Chris O’Shea said he was horrified by the behaviour of its contractor, Arvato Financial Solutions, and had suspended all forceful installations until at least next winter.
EDF, the UK's second-largest second energy supplier, also confirmed it is suspending forced installations.
Ovo Energy, another major supplier, said it had stopped the practice in November and Octopus Energy claimed it only rarely used forced installations and was not currently.
Brearley added Ofgem was looking at the relationships between suppliers and third-party contractors and how "incentives” offered might give rise to poor and unacceptable behaviours.
He added the behaviour of British Gas towards its customers was "just appalling".
"It's disgraceful and it must stop. I am angry, everyone should be angry. It's completely in the face of all the promises that I've been made by suppliers," he added.