Ofgem demands overdue payments from five energy suppliers
Ofgem said the suppliers missed Wednesday’s deadline to pay £575,000 into the feed-in tariff scheme.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The energy regulator has ordered five suppliers to pay what they owe into a scheme to support small-scale renewable energy production or face having their licences ripped up.
Ofgem said that the energy suppliers missed Wednesday’s deadline to pay £575,000 into the feed-in tariff scheme.
The feed-in tariff is paid by suppliers to provide funds for small-scale producers of renewable energy. This includes households with solar panels on their roofs.
Ofgem said that Orbit Energy has missed the largest payment, of more than £451,000.
Other suppliers, who owe between £19,000 and £47,000 are Whoop Energy, Simply Your Energy/Entice, Social Energy Supply, and Delta Gas and Power.
It comes amid a major crisis for energy suppliers, sparked by a massive spike in gas prices since the start of the year.
At one point energy suppliers were paying around five times more to buy gas from the market than they had in January.
It has led to a series of failures among suppliers, who have often been tied into contracts that force them to sell the gas for less than it cost to buy.
In past years, suppliers who have struggled to pay their obligations to Ofgem have often later gone out of business. There is no suggestion that any of the suppliers on Friday’s list from the regulator will collapse.
However, some experts predict that companies are so squeezed that there might only be a handful of energy suppliers left on the market by the end of this year.
Ofgem said: “The five suppliers must now make the payments owed immediately.
“If the suppliers fail to comply with the order, Ofgem may take further enforcement action and they could end up having their licences revoked or face a financial penalty.”