UK plans to put energy brokers under regulator Ofgem
The proposed bill would let the regulator order compensation, impose fines and ban operators that push households and businesses into overpriced contracts.
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The proposed bill would let the regulator order compensation, impose fines and ban operators that push households and businesses into overpriced contracts.
The UK government plans to bring energy brokers and price comparison services under the energy watchdog Ofgem through an energy independence bill. Ofgem would be able to order compensation, impose fines and ban operators that have pushed households and businesses into overpriced contracts.
Businesses often use brokers to arrange energy supply contracts, but the intermediaries are largely unregulated, unlike those selling mortgages or insurance. The government said some brokers had taken hidden commissions while pushing small businesses into overpriced deals.
The government planned to introduce the bill on 4 November, The Guardian said. The measures were expected to save businesses more than £100 million a year by tackling hidden commissions and mis-selling; that is a projection, not a saving already made.
The bill would also give Ofgem powers to restrict payments, including bonuses, to energy bosses when suppliers and brokers break the rules.
Local authorities would gain stronger powers to deal with landlords who fail to meet energy efficiency standards, including fines of up to £30,000. Since 2020, it has been illegal to let a property with an energy performance certificate rating below E unless the landlord can show it is exempt. The certificate rates a property’s energy efficiency.
The bill would also introduce a fracking moratorium by ending new onshore licensing in England. Fracking involves pumping liquid underground at high pressure to crack rock and release trapped oil or gas. There are concerns that it could contaminate the water table.
The moratorium would exclude lower-volume fracking and a process called “proppant squeeze,” which the fracking industry says is not fracking. The government said low-volume activities were outside the ban’s scope and that it was not aware of evidence that they posed the same risks as high-volume fracking.
University of Edinburgh professor Stuart Haszeldine has said earthquakes caused by lower-volume fracking can be as large and unpredictable as those caused by high-volume fracking. The proposed rules would need to pass through Parliament before becoming law.
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