After an overcharging error, thousands of energy customers received refunds How much could you be owed?

34,000 energy customers were inadvertently charged more than the price cap, according to an Ofgem review

After the industry regulator discovered that tens of thousands of energy customers with multiple electricity meters were being charged more than the price cap on their bills, they are now waiting for a share of £7 million in compensation.

According to an Ofgem review, 34,000 customers have been overcharged by suppliers like Octopus Energy, Ovo Energy, and Utility Warehouse. The energy price cap is intended to restrict the amount that suppliers can charge out-of-contract customers for each unit of gas and electricity.

Those who had restricted meter infrastructurethat is, multiple electricity meter points on their property that record energy usagebetween January 2019 and September 2024 were particularly affected by this problem.

For each meter a household has, energy providers add a standing charge to their bills; according to Ofgem's review, households with multiple meters were ultimately paying more than the price cap.

Ten suppliers were ordered to pay £7 million in compensation after it was determined that their prices were excessive.

Almost 1 point4 million in goodwill payments and 5 point6 million in refunds are included in this.

Ofgem's director of retail pricing and systems, Charlotte Friel, stated: "We enforce the price cap to ensure that consumers do not pay more for their energy than they should because it is our responsibility to safeguard energy consumers.

"In order to accurately bill their customers, we expect all suppliers to have strong processes in place. Although it's obvious that mistakes were made this time, fortunately, the problems were fixed quickly, and customers are receiving their money back.

For what reason are energy providers issuing refunds?

In reaction to reports that certain customers were being hit with numerous standing charges, Ofgem said it launched an investigation.

Ten vendors were discovered to have overcharged 34,048 customers with multiple meters by imposing multiple standing charges.

Thus, for varied periods between January 2019 and September 2024, the unit rates collectively exceeded the price cap.

According to Ofgem, the suppliers promptly issued refunds to customers, took corrective measures, including paying customers, and gave guarantees that this would not happen again.

Direct customer refunds totaling 5,645,963.37 and goodwill payments totaling 1,383,685.26 comprise the total redress.

How much compensation will energy consumers get?

Only if your energy supplier was found to be charging excessive prices and you have multiple meters will you receive reimbursement.

If they haven't already, customers won't need to do anything to get their money back.

Your former provider ought to be getting in touch with you to set up a refund if you have since switched suppliers.

Each energy supplier has a different amount of redress.

With 20,862 owed £2,636,884, Octopus Energy has the most impacted customers, according to Ofgem data.

In addition, Utility Warehouse must pay a hefty 2 million bill to 8,272 impacted customers.

"Today's outcome serves as a reminder to all energy suppliers that they must properly implement the price cap and do their due diligence," Friel continued. It also indicates that Ofgem is willing to cooperate with suppliers who do not follow our guidelines when appropriate.