Energy Sector Liaison Panel – September 2024

On Tuesday 17^th September 2024, Energy Ombudsman welcomed representatives from domestic and non-domestic energy suppliers to its Head Office at Daresbury, Warrington, for its second Energy Sector Liaison Panel (SLP) event of the year.

The SLP enables Energy Ombudsman to further engage with energy suppliers, sharing best practice and business updates, analysing complaint data, and discussing the challenges facing consumers and the wider industry to help improve the sector overall. There was also an opportunity for energy suppliers to network and engage with each other.

Although the number of cases handled by the service fell by 22% between January – June this year, compared to the same period in 2023, numbers remain higher than pre-energy crisis levels. This shows that the energy industry is still emerging from a challenging period where the sector had struggled to meet the demand from consumers.

Following an update from the Energy Ombudsman, breakout sessions were held to discuss remedies, the small business remit extension, Energy Ombudsman signposting rates and key insights from the energy broker scheme.

Commenting on the SLP, Ed Dodman, Energy Business Unit Director, said “communication and collaboration with energy suppliers is crucial in driving positive change for consumers. This event comes just one week after Ofgem published its Customer Confidence 2024 proposals to raise the standards of customer services, reflecting the industry's drive and desire to raise standards to better serve consumers. There are many improvements that are within the capabilities of suppliers, and it’s encouraging to see so many actively working with us to help build and maintain trust within the sector. It was an excellent day, thank you to everyone who was involved.”

Feedback from attendees has indicated that they gained valuable insights to take back to their organisations, describing the SLP as 'really informative.' They particularly welcomed the case exercises, which highlighted differences in supplier approaches to various disputes, as well as the opportunity to meet and discuss challenges with other suppliers.