Utility Week

20 | JANUARY 2023 | UTILITY WEEK Energy Analysis Why does Ofgem think we're the bad guys? The energy regulator has talked tough on the energy retail market over the past month but some suppliers have claimed the regulator is acting with incomplete information and unfairly targeting some companies. Adam John looks at the concerns on both sides. E nergy retailers are angry. Recent announcements by Ofgem have been "farcical", they say, based on incom- plete information and likely to cause undue worry rather than reassurance to vulnerable customers. While there is nothing unusual in com- panies disagreeing with the decisions of a regulator, the public pronouncements from the smaller retailers in particular at the end of last year hint at a new level of frustration. Part of the issue is the blizzard of regu- latory updates relating to the energy retail market. At the end of November Ofgem published the results of its latest "deep dive" Market Compliance Review, which explored how companies treat customers in vulnerable situations. This rated all 17 of the suppliers it looked at as having minor, moderate or severe weaknesses. Suppliers were asked how they are iden- tifying and recording vulnerable customers, and if they are adding them to the Priority Services Register, providing free gas safety checks to those who are eligible, ensuring those on prepayment meters are identified and supported, and providing useful and appropriate information. Five suppliers were identified as having severe weaknesses: Good Energy, Outfox, So Energy, TruEnergy, and Utilita. Ofgem said a significant proportion of these suppliers' processes and policies were missing or inadequate, or their data indi- cated they were not achieving good con- sumer outcomes. The chief executive of So Energy – the supplier to c300,000 customers – Mon- ica Collings was one of those to hit back, claiming her company was facing "undue scrutiny". She wrote in a blog: "We have what I would call an excellent relationship with the regulator, Ofgem. So it pains me to write that on this occasion they are wrong. "That's not a defensive, resentful remark and I appreciate that it's fairly bold as a claim to make. I'm sorry that despite abso- lute openness and transparency we find our- selves facing undue scrutiny. The last two Ofgem reviews we have participated in have seen us be placed in the top two categories of suppliers (and some of the sections of this review we answered in the very same way). "It is disappointing for everyone who works at So Energy to wake up to these head- lines, which is not a true reflection of their work. I continue to thank them all for their tireless commitment to customers." Meanwhile, So Energy's co-founder, Simon Oscro–, said the information Ofgem used to make its decisions was "incomplete".

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