Switching Compensation: Guaranteed Standards of Performance
Guidance
Publication date
Industry sector
Supply and Retail Market
Switching strengthens competition in the energy market, which in turn benefits consumers. It is essential that consumers can switch energy supplier with confidence. However, when delays and errors occur with the current switching arrangements, the costs of these are often borne by consumers.
Guaranteed Standards will ensure that consumers are compensated by suppliers when delays and erroneous switches occur, and when suppliers take too long to issue a final bill or to refund a customer’s credit balance.
Consultations and Decision
For full details of our work on Guaranteed Standards, see our:
- Open Letter
- Policy Consultation
- Policy Decision and Way Forward (including draft Statutory Instrument)
- Final Decision
- Record keeping requirements and clarification of Ofgem’s policy intent relating to implementation
- Q2 2019 Request for Information and reporting templates
- Phase Two Working Group Output Note
- Phase Two Policy Consultation and draft Statutory Instrument
- Q3 2019 Request for Information and reporting template
- Phase Two Decision
Switching Compensation Workgroup
Phase 1 of the Switching Compensation Guaranteed Standards will come into force on May 1st 2019. Phase 2 of the Guaranteed Standards will come into force in Summer 2019. In preparation for this, Ofgem is running a workgroup for industry participants to allow engagement between, and with, suppliers on the way forward.
Our aim for this Working Group is to provide consensus on a better, data-led approach to implementing Guaranteed Standards, working with suppliers to ensure that responsibility is applied fairly to those at fault for detriment.
We want to work with all suppliers (large and small) to make sure that these Guaranteed Standards are as well targeted at detriment as possible. We would like these workgroup sessions to be attended by a representative group of supplier colleagues who are familiar with data and would be likely to help us to understand the underlying causes of delays, erroneous transfers, and issuance of final bills.
Provisional Workgroup Session Dates
Please note that these dates, times and locations are only provisional and may be subject to change. All workgroup members will be emailed with confirmation of any changes in due course.
You can access working papers, the actions and decisions log, and minutes from the workshops through the following publications:
- Introductory Session
- Session One
- Session Two
- Session Three
- Webex Review
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Phase Two Working Group Output Note
Contact
If you have any questions relating to the Switching Compensation Guaranteed Standards, or if you, or a colleague, are an industry participant and would like to attend the working group or receive the working group communications on behalf of a supplier, please get in touch by emailing the Switching Compensation team at switchingcompensation@ofgem.gov.uk.