Ministers have launched a review today into beefing up powers for the energy regulator Ofgem to offer stronger protections for households from poor service from suppliers
Energy customers could be given better protections when things go wrong under a major shake-up.
Ministers launched a review today into beefing up powers for Ofgem to protect households from poor service. It comes after Brits were clobbered by rocketing bills in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with suppliers going bust and poor customer service.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is battling to get a grip on the broken energy market and restore public trust after the crisis. The review will look at ordering companies that are guilty of wrongdoing to refund or compensate customers directly.
Proposals include shortening the eight-week response time for complaints and improving access to automatic compensation when things go wrong.
The probe will also examine how Ofgem can resolve complaints from people trying to slash their energy costs by upgrading to a new boiler, heat pump or solar panels.
Minister for Energy Consumers, Miatta Fahnbulleh told the Mirror: “We know that, particularly since energy costs sky-rocketed in 2022, the energy market has let too many working people down.
“Putin’s invasion of Ukraine sent prices spiraling and led to sudden supplier failures that were chaotic for consumers. And if that wasn’t enough, families who were forced to move supplier then had insolvency practitioners demanding that their debit balances with their old supplier had to be paid off immediately.
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“What the crisis revealed is that the energy regulator simply did not have the tools it needed to protect consumers in today’s market. We have learned tough lessons from the past few years, and now we will put them into practice through innovation and reform.”
Jonathan Brearley, Chief Executive of Ofgem, said: “Ofgem welcomes this review. A great deal has changed since our remit was set 25 years ago, and will continue to change as we move to new ways of generating and using energy.
“The energy crisis served as an important reminder to all that protecting consumers must remain the focus no matter what challenges we face, so that every household receives the service and support they rightly expect.”
