Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, will she take steps to ensure energy companies provide automatic refunds to customers in a timely manner.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government, through its review of Ofgem and its consultation on faster and fairer redress for consumers, has set out reforms to strengthen the regulator as a consumer champion, including stronger powers to enforce consumer law directly and help ensure customers receive what they are owed.
The Government expects energy suppliers to refund customers promptly where money is owed. Ofgem already requires automatic compensation in specific cases, including late final bills and late credit balance refunds.
The Government will continue supporting Ofgem’s review of Guaranteed Standards of Performance (GSOP) payments including proposals for inflation-linked compensation and repeat payments for prolonged serious failures.