The Gas and Electricity Acts require Ofgem to have regard to the interests of individuals who are disabled, chronically sick, of pensionable age or on low incomes.
The Social Action Strategy (SAS) sets out how Ofgem will seek to meet these social obligations. It also sets out how we will help the Government to meet its targets for eradicating fuel poverty, as required by the statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State on social and environmental matters, with which Ofgem must comply. We believe that a joined up approach between Government, Ofgem, industry, consumer and voluntary bodies is needed.
The SAS identifies four key themes for our work on social issues:
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Securing compliance with regulatory obligations and effective monitoring and reporting by the companies;
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encouraging best practice among energy suppliers, using research to identify effective ways to address fuel poverty and help vulnerable customers;
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influencing the debate about measures to help tackle fuel poverty, working with other stakeholders; and
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informing consumers about ways to lower their energy bills.
We are currently updating the SAS. Action on fuel poverty and our work to protect the interests of vulnerable customers are key themes of our annual Sustainable Development Report. The rest of the pages in the Social Action Strategy area (on the navigation bar on the left) cover the following subjects:
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Domestic suppliers – the regulatory obligations on suppliers and their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives;
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Network operators – their regulatory obligations and other work to help vulnerable customers;
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Monitoring and reporting – the data collected from suppliers; and
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Publications, best practice and research.