Ofgem has ordered 10 energy suppliers to pay more than £7 million in refunds and compensation after customers were overcharged due to billing errors linked to complex meter setups.
Following a compliance review, the regulator found that over 34,000 households with ‘Restricted Meter Infrastructure’ – properties with more than one electricity meter – were charged more than allowed under the energy price cap between January 2019 and September 2024.
While suppliers are permitted to apply multiple standing charges for multi-meter homes, the combined effect of these charges and the unit rates pushed total costs above the cap.
Ofgem has made clear that this breaches consumer protection rules.
In a statement, the regulator said it “expects suppliers to be vigilant” and ensure all customers remain within the limits of the price cap, including those with non-standard metering.
Price caps are designed to shield consumers from excessive costs, and the onus is on energy firms to apply them fairly.
Charlotte Friel, Director of Retail pricing and Systems at Ofgem, said:
Our duty is to protect energy consumers, and we set the price cap for that very reason so customers don’t pay a higher amount for their energy than they should.
“We expect all suppliers to have robust processes in place so they can bill their customers accurately.”
Once alerted to the issue, suppliers acted swiftly to fix the error and have so far paid back £5.6 million in refunds and nearly £1.4 million in goodwill payments.
All 10 suppliers involved have updated their billing systems to prevent this happening again.
Ofgem is keeping up the pressure. It will continue to work with the companies to make sure refunds are completed and will monitor compliance closely to prevent future breaches.
What do I do?
Customers do not need to take any action – those still with the same supplier will receive payments automatically.
If a customer has switched, they will be contacted by their previous supplier to arrange their refund.
Although the regulator described the error as “serious”, it acknowledged that the suppliers’ strong engagement during the compliance process helped determine the level of goodwill payments agreed.
One of the suppliers involved, Rebel Energy, has since exited the market. However, Ofgem confirmed that all affected customers of Rebel have already been refunded and compensated.
The case underscores Ofgem’s sharpened stance on enforcement as energy prices remain a live issue for many households.
It says this serves as a warning to all suppliers that errors – even unintentional – will not be allowed to slip through the cracks.
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