Ovo Energy has agreed to pay more than £10 million after the energy regulator Ofgem found the company failed to adequately monitor vulnerable customers with prepayment meters, exposing them to a “clear risk of harm”.
Ofgem’s investigation revealed that Ovo did not properly monitor its prepayment meter customers, including those on the priority services register, breaching rules designed to protect vulnerable consumers. The settlement includes a £7 million payment to Ofgem’s voluntary redress fund and a £3.4 million package of credit and debt relief for some of the most vulnerable customers.
Additionally, Ovo is paying £1.1 million to customers in the Scottish Highlands and islands after compliance work found that some rural customers lacked appropriate access to engineer support for over two years, from January 2022 to April 2024.
During the investigation, Ovo took some remedial actions, including welfare visits to customers disconnected for more than 72 hours who had not responded to communications. However, in some cases, customers who ran out of credit were not contacted by the supplier.
Cathryn Scott, Ofgem’s director of market oversight and enforcement, said: “It is clear that Ovo fell short in its support of vulnerable PPM customers, and it’s right that they’ve taken action to improve their processes.” Ovo accepted that its historic processes fell short and apologised, stating it had improved policies and training since 2024.
This settlement follows a £2.7 million fine in January for failing to pass on government support payments during the energy crisis. Ovo, founded by former Tory donor Stephen Fitzpatrick, is being acquired by German energy group E.ON in a deal that would create Britain’s largest gas and electricity supplier by household numbers.
