We published our Consumer Vulnerability Strategy in 2013. It builds on the earlier work of our Social Action Plan and Social Action Strategy.
What is the Ofgem Consumer Vulnerability Strategy?
Our strategy has two roles:
- To guide Ofgem’s approach to understanding vulnerability – through evidence, research and market analysis – to help us set our priorities, develop and implement interventions and assess their effectiveness.
- To guide our expectations of supply and distribution companies to embed consideration of consumer vulnerability when they design and deliver products and services.
Consumer Vulnerability Strategy objective
The overarching objective is to understand and identify the causes of vulnerable situations in the energy market.
Our aim is to protect consumers and ensure they do not face barriers when engaging with the market. We will use our regulatory powers to create the right framework to protect and empower them.
How we define Vulnerability
We define vulnerability as when a consumer’s personal circumstances and characteristics combine with aspects of the market to create situations where they are:
- significantly less able than a typical consumer to protect or represent his or her interests in the energy market
- significantly more likely than a typical consumer to suffer detriment, or that detriment is likely to be more substantial
Through the publications and update feed below you can access our publications and outputs produced in relation to the Consumer Vulnerability Strategy.