Utilita will pay around £277,000 in compensation after failing to pay its Warm Home Discount payments on time to more than 4000 customers, according to Ofgem.
The Warm Home Discount scheme – which is administered by Ofgem on behalf of government – supports energy consumers on low incomes by offering an automatic payment of £150 to eligible customers each year. In 2023-2024, Utilita – which supplies 800,000 customers – failed to pass on the mandatory discount within the required timeframe because of an internal error in processing payments. It self-reported to the regulator.
Utilita has agreed to pay £247,000 of compensation to those affected, who will receive further payments of up to £150 each. This is in addition to £30,000 of compensation Utilita paid to affected customers shortly after the error was identified.
Cathryn Scott, Regulatory Director of Market Oversight and Enforcement at Ofgem, said:
“The Warm Home Discount is a lifeline for vulnerable energy consumers on low incomes. Even a short delay in making these payments can cause harm to vulnerable customers, so it’s vital that suppliers make these payments on time and without hassle.
“Unfortunately, on this occasion, Utilita fell short of our standards by failing to pay some of their customers in a timely manner. Utilita has conducted an audit of their Warm Home Discount processes to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Customers have already been contacted by Utilita and will be compensated automatically.