OVO Energy to pay £10.4m for process failures that "could have put vulnerable customers at risk" 3 Jun 2026, 08:26 OVO Energy has agreed to pay about £10.4m ($14m) in settlements after an investigation found failures in its processes that could have put prepayment meter customers at risk. Energy regulator Ofgem said it had closed its investigation into the supplier for its process failures that could have put vulnerable prepayment meter (PPM) customers at risk. The regulator's investigation concluded that OVO's inadequate monitoring of PPM customers, including those on the Priority Services Register (PSR), led to breaches of Ofgem's rules designed to protect customers in vulnerable situations. It said this "exposed consumers to a clear risk of harm". In recognition of Ofgem's findings, Ovo, founded by entrepreneur Stephen Fitzpatrick, has agreed to a settlement package. This includes a £7m payment to Ofgem's Voluntary Redress Fund and providing a £3.4m package of credit and debt relief for some of its most vulnerable customers, in lieu of compensation. Ofgem said customers who are due payments will be contacted by OVO Energy and do not need to take any action. OVO is also in the process of paying £1.1m to customers in the Scottish Highlands and Islands following compliance engagement. This identified that some rural customers did not have appropriate access to engineer support during the period from 1st January 2022 and 1st April 2024. OVO, during the investigation, undertook remedial actions to support vulnerable customers, including welfare visits for customers who had disconnected for more than 72 hours, and not responded to any communication during that peri Cathryn Scott, director of Market Oversight and Enforcement for Ofgem, 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. As a result of our investigation, vulnerable customers will receive debt write-off or credit payments alongside a payment into our voluntary redress fund. "Prepayment meters are a positive choice for many customers, helping them stay in control of their energy use and reporting high levels of satisfaction - but it's not suitable for everyone and strong monitoring must be in place to protect vulnerable consumers. "This investigation forms part of Ofgem's wider work to raise standards across the energy market and strengthen consumer protections, challenging suppliers to do more to identify and support customers in difficulty. "Anyone worried about paying their bill should contact their supplier as early as possible to access the support available and discuss the options that suit their circumstances." An OVO spokesperson said: "Ofgem's investigation examined how we supported prepayment meter customers between 2018 and 2024. We accept that some of our historic processes fell short of expected standards, and we are sorry for that. "Keeping our customers safe and supported is hugely important to us and we recognise there were areas where we needed to do better. "We have since worked to strengthen our policies and systems, including a new Safe and Reasonably Practicable (SARP) policy, strengthening how we identify and support our vulnerable customers. This settlement reflects both those historic issues and the improvements we have made." The company said that customers who may be eligible for a goodwill payment will be contacted directly by OVO, adding they do not need to take any action in response to this announcement.

Ovo Energy to pay more than £10m over prepayment meter monitoring failings. Regulator finds inadequate monitoring by firm could have exposed vulnerable customers 'to clear risk of harm' Ovo Energy has agreed to pay more than £10m after the energy regulator for Great Britain, Ofgem, found a lack of monitoring of vulnerable customers with prepayment meters (PPMs) could have exposed them to a "clear risk of harm". Ofgem found that Ovo did not adequately monitor its PPM customers, including those on the priority services register, leading to breaches of the watchdog's rules designed to protect customers in vulnerable situations. In response to the findings, Ovo agreed to a settlement package including a £7m payment to Ofgem's voluntary redress fund as well as a £3.4m package of credit and debt relief for some of its most vulnerable customers, which the regulator said was in lieu of compensation. Any Ovo customers due to receive credit or debt write-off payments would be contacted by Ovo and do not need to take any action, Ofgem added. In addition, Ovo - set up by the former Tory donor Stephen Fitzpatrick - is in the process of paying £1.1m to customers in the Scottish Highlands and islands, after compliance work by the regulator found that some rural customers did not have appropriate access to engineer support for more than two years, from 1 January 2022 to 1 April 2024. During Ofgem's investigation into Ovo, the company took some action to support vulnerable customers, including making welfare visits to people who had been disconnected from their energy supply for more than 72 hours and who had not responded to any communications during that time. In some cases, customers who had run out of credit were not contacted by the energy supplier. Ofgem's investigation looked into Ovo's treatment of its existing PPM customers rather than customers having PPMs installed without their consent. "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," said Cathryn Scott, the director of market oversight and enforcement for Ofgem. "Prepayment meters are a positive choice for many customers, helping them stay in control of their energy use and reporting high levels of satisfaction - but it's not suitable for everyone and strong monitoring must be in place to protect vulnerable consumers." Ovo said in a statement that it accepted that some of its historic processes fell short of the expected standards. It added that since 2024 it had significantly improved its policies, systems and training, and how its policies were followed, including implementing a new policy around how it identified and supported vulnerable customers. An Ovo spokesperson said: "Ofgem's investigation examined how we supported prepayment meter customers between 2018 and 2024. We accept that some of our historic processes fell short of expected standards, and we are sorry for that. "Keeping our customers safe and supported is hugely important to us and we recognise there were areas where we needed to do better." Ovo's settlement is the latest blow for the company, which was fined £2.7m in January after failing to pass on government support payments for winter energy bills to thousands of vulnerable customers during the energy cost crisis. The German energy group E.ON said last month it had agreed to buy Ovo in a deal that would create Britain's biggest gas and electricity supplier by number of households served.

OVO to sell UK energy retail business to E.ON. OVO Energy agreed to sell its UK energy retail business to E.ON, subject to regulatory approval. The deal includes OVO's retail customers and employees supporting the business. OVO also agreed to sell its Home Services business, which offers boiler insurance and boiler servicing, to Hometree. The company said changing market conditions, stricter regulatory oversight, and higher financial resilience requirements reshaped the economics of the UK energy sector, making greater scale and access to long-term capital increasingly important. Following the acquisition, E.ON will continue OVO's existing energy intelligence platform agreement with Kaluza, which provides billing and energy management technology. The companies will also evaluate expanding Kaluza's platform across other parts of the E.ON group outside the UK. "Sixteen years ago I started OVO with a simple belief: energy should be cheaper, greener and simpler and it should work for customers. That belief built one of the country's largest energy companies and pioneered a completely new customer centric approach. The team has consistently pushed the rest of the industry to raise its game and I am genuinely proud of what we have built. Energy retail is now more regulated, more capital intensive and increasingly dependent on long-term investment and scale. In that context, bringing OVO together with E.ON is the right next step for customers, for colleagues, and for the long-term commitment that decarbonisation requires." - Stephen Fitzpatrick, Founder of OVO. "OVO is proud of the role it has played as a challenger brand over the past almost 20 years. Supported by our investors, we have powered multiple innovations in products and services for consumers, and pushed forward a greener, more affordable, and more efficient energy system." - Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Chair of OVO. "The energy market has fundamentally changed in recent years. OVO was founded to challenge the status quo, and we've built a strong retail business focused on delivering for customers and supporting the transition to cleaner energy. As the market has evolved, scale and access to significant long-term capital for the energy transition have become non-negotiable. Following a thorough review, we believe this decision gives the business the strongest footing for the future. I'm incredibly proud of what the team at OVO has built, and we will work closely with E.ON and Hometree to support our people and ensure a smooth transition for customers." - Chris Houghton, CEO of OVO. "This acquisition, alongside our partnership with Pollen Street Capital, marks a significant milestone for Hometree. Bringing OVO Home Services and CORGI HomePlan into the group is transformational - immediately increasing our scale and strengthening our position as the leading challenger in the UK home services market. Together, we are well placed to expand our offering and deliver greater peace of mind to homeowners, starting in the UK and, over time, across Europe. We also look forward to maintaining a close relationship with OVO Energy's 4 million customer base through our long-term partnership as its exclusive provider of home services and residential renewable financing." - Simon Phelan, Founder & CEO, Hometree. Get Coverager to your inbox. A really good email covering top news. By Avi Ben-Hutta · Dec 5, 2022