Once Ofgem has decided to that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that there has been a breach of any of the legislation that it has the power to enforce, it may commence an investigation.
Investigations usually involve several stages. Ofgem may request information from the company complained about and third parties either informally or using its formal powers under the Gas Act 1986, the Electricity Act 1989, the Competition Act 1998 or the Enterprise Act 2002.
Once the information has been gathered and analysed, Ofgem will produce a document which sets out the case against the company which is the subject of the complaint. The company will then have the opportunity to respond to the case.
Ofgem will consider the company’s response before deciding on the appropriate course of action.