{"id":116912,"date":"2026-01-23T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=116912"},"modified":"2026-01-22T23:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T23:58:10","slug":"ovo-energy-to-compensate-customers-2-77-m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/ovo-energy-to-compensate-customers-2-77-m\/","title":{"rendered":"Ovo Energy to Compensate Customers \u00a32.77 Million Over Warm Home Discount Payment Delays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The UK energy regulator Ofgem has confirmed that Ovo Energy will pay \u00a32.77<\/strong> million in compensation after significant delays in delivering Warm Home Discount payments to nearly 12,000<\/strong> of its customers. The failure left many without critical support during winter, with some of the most vulnerable forced to go without heating at the coldest time of year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Warm Home Discount scheme, backed by the government, is designed to help low-income and medically vulnerable individuals afford heating through the winter months. The delayed payments, which should have been issued by March 2024, were not received until November 2025<\/strong>, affecting customers when energy support was needed most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delays Impacted Medically Vulnerable Customers during Coldest Months<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ovo\u2019s delay in issuing the \u00a3150 rebate affected 11,646 customer<\/strong>s, according to Ofgem. Among these, 7,726 were listed on the Priority Services Register<\/a> and 4,066 were medically vulnerable. The regulator stated the firm \u201cfell significantly short of its obligations,\u201d particularly given the severity of the delay (more than 19 months) and the risks posed to those living in fuel poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The delay stemmed from what Ovo described as an internal system error<\/strong>, which it self-reported to Ofgem. In response, the company agreed to compensate affected households with a tiered payment scheme. This includes \u00a3150 for all impacted customers, an additional \u00a3150 for medically vulnerable individuals, and a further \u00a3100 for those who experienced so-called self-disconnection, when a prepayment meter runs out and the customer is unable to top up, between March and May 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to The Standard, the company acknowledged that it had failed to meet \u201cthe high standards of service we set for ourselves<\/em>\u201d and stated that measures have since been taken to prevent the issue from recurring. Ofgem has said it recognises the \u201cpositive steps\u201d taken by Ovo since the incident, though the compensation order was deemed necessary given the scale and consequences of the failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ofgem and Consumer Groups Condemn Supplier\u2019s Failure<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ofgem\u2019s Director of Delivery and Schemes, Neil Lawrence<\/strong>, described the delays as unacceptable. He stated that \u201cthe Warm Home Discount is a vital source of support for vulnerable energy consumers<\/em>,\u201d and warned that \u201cdelays of this magnitude can cause real harm, particularly for those experiencing fuel poverty who also have medical needs.<\/em>\u201d He added that suppliers are expected to act swiftly and accurately when administering support schemes, and that failures such as this would prompt regulatory intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Consumer advocacy group Which? also commented on the case. Energy editor Emily Seymour told The Standard it was \u201cgood to see Ofgem taking action after Ovo let down customers <\/a>who could least afford to wait for delayed energy bill support<\/em>.\u201d She added that fuel poverty can be \u201cextremely dangerous\u201d for older people and those with health conditions, and stressed the importance of reliable support during winter.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Warm Home Discount scheme is aimed at low-income pensioners and households vulnerable to cold-related illness. Energy suppliers spent a total of \u00a3578.7 million through the scheme last year, providing vital support across the country. Though Ovo has responded publicly and changed its internal processes, the fine highlights how errors in administration can have tangible and serious consequences for those most in need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UK energy supplier Ovo has been ordered to compensate thousands of vulnerable customers after a 19-month delay in Warm Home Discount payments. The firm cited internal system errors as the cause, with regulators criticising the failure as a serious breach of obligation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":116914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116912"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116923,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116912\/revisions\/116923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}