Fines and redress payments
How companies that breach rules must pay penalties, compensation or make redress payments, and what they've paid.
We stand up for consumers by requiring rule-breaking companies to pay penalties and to put things right. We can require them to provide redress by making payments or with other actions.
Our aim is to make it cost companies more to breach licence conditions or regulations than it costs to meet them.
We also want customers who have lost out or suffered inconvenience or harm to get compensation if possible.
When we fine companies or require payments to put things right
When a company has breached a licence condition or regulation, we'll act.
We can take a number of actions, such as:
- fine a company as a penalty for the breach and to deter them and other companies from future breaches
- require a redress payment to compensate customers where we calculate consumers have lost money, or suffered other harm or inconvenience
- require a redress payment to the energy industry voluntary redress scheme
Energy industry voluntary redress scheme
Our compliance or enforcement action may result in companies making a payment to the voluntary redress scheme, if we are satisfied that:
- they cannot identify or trace all customers who have suffered a loss
- it is not possible to calculate how much money should be paid to each customer
- individual payments to customers would be so small it would not be worthwhile to make them
Redress fund payments are distributed to energy-related projects in England, Scotland and Wales. We have appointed the Energy Saving Trust to operate the fund. Read guidance on the allocation of redress funds.
Over £150 million was awarded to organisations for more than 700 projects in the scheme's first seven years.
Types of projects include:
- energy advice
- fuel voucher crisis support
- supply of small energy efficient items
- projects that support decarbonisation
Get information about projects that the redress fund has supported.
Organisations can apply for funds on the Energy Saving Trust's website.
Energy company payments for rule breaches
The public annual total redress or fine payments for all companies from the last five years.
We pay fines to the Treasury and redress payments to customers or to the voluntary redress fund.
You can download all data for total public fine and redress payments since 2010.