Ovo Energy has agreed to pay over £10 million after Ofgem found the supplier failed to adequately monitor vulnerable customers using prepayment meters, exposing them to a 'clear risk of harm'. The regulator's investigation revealed that Ovo did not properly oversee its prepayment meter customers, including those on the priority services register, breaching rules designed to protect vulnerable individuals.
As part of the settlement, Ovo will pay £7 million into Ofgem's voluntary redress fund and provide a £3.4 million package of credit and debt relief for some of its most vulnerable customers. Ofgem stated that affected customers will be contacted by Ovo and do not need to take any action. 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.
During the investigation, Ovo took some steps to support vulnerable customers, including welfare visits to those 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. Ofgem's probe focused on Ovo's treatment of existing prepayment meter customers, not those who had meters installed without consent.
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 some historic processes fell short and said it had significantly improved policies, systems, and training since 2024. An Ovo spokesperson apologised, stating: 'Keeping our customers safe and supported is hugely important to us and we recognise there were areas where we needed to do better.'
This settlement follows a £2.7 million fine in January for failing to pass on government support payments during the energy crisis. Last month, German energy group E.ON agreed to buy Ovo in a deal that would create Britain's largest gas and electricity supplier by household numbers.
