John Baron MP welcomes Ofgem’s take up of his energy bill proposals

MP says long campaign about to pay off

Ofgem, the energy regulator, recently released initial indications as to the final version of its Retail Market Review (RMR). The RMR is an investigation into the energy retail market, with a view to making it more competitive and better for energy customers.

In particular, Ofgem have announced significant reforms to energy bills. These mirror the recommendations of the Billing Stakeholder Group (BSG), which was chaired by John Baron MP. The BSG was formed at the Government’s request and included Ofgem, representatives from consumer groups and energy suppliers, as well as officials from the Department of Energy and Climate Change. This followed a long campaign by John in Parliament

The proposals will compel energy suppliers to place clearly on the face of bills a personalised message detailing the exact amount (in pounds and pence) that customers could save were they to switch to their supplier’s cheapest standard direct debit tariff.

John said,

“I am pleased Ofgem has included the proposals of the Billing Stakeholder Group. It has been a long campaign, but I am pleased we have won through. I strongly believe my proposals will encourage switching, drive up competition and reduce fuel bills.”

“We now need to ensure the energy companies do not push back against these proposals. I have written to the Energy Minister and will be meeting him later this month to discuss.”