Chief Executive's response to the Independent article published on the 30 January.
Press release
- Publication date
- Industry sector
- Supply and Retail Market
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to your article of 30 January by Oliver Wright, which misrepresented our statement by wrongly implying that we had no further comment. Ofgem is an independent regulator and we have only one agenda – to act in the interests of electricity and gas consumers. That is why we are taking radical action to shake up the energy market, hold companies to account and increase transparency. We take tough action where companies fail consumers and since 2010 we have imposed over £75 million in fines or redress on energy companies. We are also, as the report highlighted, working with the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition and Markets Authority to review competition in the market.
Our radical reforms to the energy market are underway to make the energy market simpler, clearer and fairer. Consumers are already seeing simpler choices as a result of our reforms and these are helping people switch more easily. November and December showed the highest switching rates ever, and these consumers will have found it far easier to find and switch to a better deal. Ofgem is effecting a real change for the consumer. We are already delivering significant reforms to encourage more new entrants into the market to increase competitive pressure on prices. In addition, we have been at the forefront of increasing transparency about how the big energy suppliers operate.
Ofgem is an independent, statutory organisation committed to changing the energy market for the benefit of consumers. We have no political or financial agenda; we are using all the powers at our disposal to effect the right change for consumers. This is why we are working with the CMA and OFT to look at the state of the market and to see whether more needs to be done. We are due to finish this work at the end of March and report on our findings shortly after.
Yours sincerely
Andrew Wright
Interim Chief Executive
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