Red Faces as Ofgem Punishes E.ON

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10 November 2015 | Updated 01 January 1970

E.ON has had to apologise to business customers for failing to meet its obligation to install advanced electricity meters in time and has been fined £7 million.

The settlement follows the conclusion of an investigation by the energy regulator, Ofgem, into the installation of advanced electricity meters to business customers which found that E.ON had not taken all ‘reasonable steps’ to provide advanced metering technology to approximately 7,000 business customers by the April 2014 deadline.

Under the government’s advanced meter scheme which began in 2009, energy suppliers across the UK had to take all reasonable steps to fit a total of 155,000 business customers with and supply electricity through, advanced electricity meters by April 2014.

While E.ON had installed more than 12,000 advanced electricity meters – representing almost two-thirds of its total figure – by the April 2014 deadline, Ofgem, ruled that the company had failed to take all reasonable steps to manage the installation process for all 20,000 meter installations within the timeframe.

In mitigation, the energy company said that it had been partially successful but had still fallen short of the deadline due mainly to failures in its “management systems”.

“Installing advanced meters to tens of thousands of business customers across the country was always going to be a significant challenge and one that threw up a variety of hurdles for suppliers to overcome,” said an E.ON spokesman. “That said, we cannot and will not, overlook the fact that we did not do enough in time to meet the deadline and in that regard failed to provide the efficient service our business customers demand and deserve.”

If not in the Last Chance Saloon, E.ON has been left in no doubt what will happen if it falls short again of its obligations. Anthony Pygram, Ofgem's Senior Enforcement Partner, was unequivocal. “It's unacceptable that E.ON failed to roll out advanced meters to these business customers on time,” he stated. “Customers have lost out on receiving better information about their energy consumption and the opportunity to control costs. Unless E.ON improves its poor record, it will have to pay out even more and may face a sales ban.”

The £7 million redress payment will be used to fund a two-year programme of free energy efficiency advice and support for SMEs across England, Scotland and Wales to be delivered by the Carbon Trust.

Picture: E.ON has been fined by Ofgem for failing to provide advanced metering technology to approximately 7,000 business customers in the April 2014 deadline

Article written by Mike Gannon | Published 10 November 2015

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