10 UK energy companies will pay £7 million in compensation for charging customers too much by mistake
Ofgem’s review found that more than 34,000 customers were wrongly charged higher standing fees.
Ten UK energy suppliers, including EDF, E.ON, and Octopus, will pay £7 million in compensation and refunds after overcharging customers, following a review by the energy regulator for Great Britain.
Ofgem said the suppliers agreed to refund more than 34,000 customers who were charged too much for standing fees. These are daily fees added to bills, regardless of energy use, and they were higher than allowed by the regulator’s price cap.
The affected customers had multiple electricity meters at their property, which led to the overcharging between January 2019 and September 2024.
Even though suppliers can charge for more than one standing fee for homes with multiple meters, they must follow Ofgem’s price cap, which sets a limit on how much can be charged for each unit of electricity or gas.
Charlotte Friel, the director of retail and pricing systems at Ofgem, said: “Our job is to protect energy consumers, and we set the price cap to make sure customers don’t pay too much for their energy.
“We expect all suppliers to have strong systems to bill their customers correctly. While mistakes were made this time, the problems were fixed quickly, and customers are getting their money back.”
The 10 suppliers will pay £5.6 million in refunds and almost £1.4 million in goodwill payments.
Ofgem found that Octopus had the most customers affected by the overcharging, with 20,862 out of 34,048. Other suppliers giving refunds include E.ON Next, Ecotricity, EDF, Outfox the Market, Ovo Energy, Rebel Energy, So Energy, TruEnergy, and Utility Warehouse.
A spokesperson for Octopus apologized but said the issue happened with a “rare” type of meter, affecting only 0.3% of its customers.
“Mistakes happen, and we’re sorry when they do,” the spokesperson said. “We were following one Ofgem rule but accidentally broke another. We’re happy to have fixed it now.”
Friel said the ruling is a reminder to all energy suppliers to follow the price cap properly and “do their homework.” She also said: “It shows that, when needed, Ofgem will work with suppliers who don’t follow our rules.”
Miatta Fahnbulleh, the Minister for Energy Consumers, said: “No family should be overcharged on their energy bills, and companies must make sure their bills are correct. The government is working to protect consumers in the energy system. It is very important that Ofgem has taken quick action today to fine companies that overcharge customers.”
On Wednesday, Ofgem told Good Energy to pay £150,000 to former customers with prepayment meters because they didn’t send final bills.
Since 2014, Good Energy didn’t send final bills to customers within six weeks of them leaving the company, as required by their energy supplier licenses.
Ofgem found that 2,284 customers were affected, and each customer was owed an average of £66.
Published: 12th May 2025
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