Citizens Advice response to Ofgem’s non-domestic market review: Statutory consultation on licence changes
We welcome the opportunity to comment on Ofgem’s proposed changes and additions to the Standard Licence Conditions for non-domestic gas and electricity suppliers, and to the Complaints Handling Standards regulations. Citizens Advice is supportive of all five proposals, as they expand protection from microbusinesses alone to include small businesses.
In particular, we are supportive of the expansion of the Complaints Handling Standards and of the requirement on suppliers to work with TPIs that are part of a Qualifying Dispute Settlement Scheme (QDSS). It is well established that small business consumers function in a very similar way to micro business consumers when it comes to engaging with the energy retail market, and that they have similar needs and challenges. Despite this, small businesses have not had access to the same consumer protections that microbusiness consumers enjoy. This is particularly problematic because they often don’t have the resources to seek legal advice when things go wrong. Ofgem’s proposed changes will help address this issue by providing access to redress options. The changes should also set higher standards for suppliers across the market, helping to improve consumer confidence and engagement.
Alongside this broad support, we have two main areas of concern that we would like Ofgem to take into account in their decision making process:
Ofgem should expand protections in a manner that enables it to flexibly meet consumer needs in future
The protections in question will only be successful if implemented properly