One of the UK’s biggest energy providers is to compensate more than 11,000 customers, most of them vulnerable, for failing to pay electricity bill discounts on time.
Ovo, the country’s fourth largest gas and electricity supplier, was more than 19 months late making the warm home discount payments and so has been ordered by energy regulator Ofgem to pay over £2.7m in redress.
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The £2,765,200 sum comprises individual compensation payments of at least £150, which will be sent to the 11,646 directly affected customers.
All those impacted will receive £150, while 4,066 customers classed as medically vulnerable will get an additional £150.
A further £100 will be paid to customers for every time they didn’t have enough money to top up their prepayment meter, causing it to run out, between 31 March and 31 May 2024.
Of the roughly 11,000 customers impacted by the absence of the government bill discount, 7,726 were classed as vulnerable energy consumers.
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These customers have been contacted, Ofgem said, and do not need to take any further action. They will be compensated automatically, the regulator added.
What did Ovo do?
Instead of paying the warm home discount by the 31 March 2024 deadline, the customers in question did not receive their rebate until November 2025, Ofgem said.
“The delay meant that some of the most vulnerable customers were left without the support they were entitled to during the coldest winter months,” it added.
The warm home discount applies to electricity bills during winter for low‑income or vulnerable households. It is applied directly to bills.
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In response, an Ovo spokesperson said, “We’re very sorry that some customers did not receive their Warm Home Discount payments on time. We have worked closely with Ofgem to understand what went wrong and to put measures in place to ensure it does not happen again.
“We did not meet the high standards of service we set for ourselves, and all affected customers have now been compensated.”
