Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps with Ofgem to introduce an obligation on energy suppliers to disclose to customers prominently in communications on (a) the sale of new tariffs and (b) other issues whether their credit balances are (a) ringfenced and protected or (b) being used as working capital.

Ofgem licence conditions require energy suppliers to provide information, services or tools to enable customers to compare their tariffs easily.

Domestic customers’ credit balances are protected in all instances. Customers can claim unused credit at any time and their energy supplier must refund them promptly unless they have reasonable grounds not to. Ofgem has also been taking steps to ensure that customer credit balances are kept at an appropriate level. Further, Ofgem is currently considering proposals which would allow them to direct suppliers in financial difficulties to ringfence domestic customer credit balances, reducing costs which are mutualised were a supplier to fail.