Future Of British Business
UK Power Traders Will Be Banned From Charging Excessive Prices
- Ofgem targets ‘off-on’ tactic that added £525 million to bills
- Plan comes after energy crisis hiked British consumers’ costs
A National Grid Plc sign outside the gas-fired Grain power station, operated by Uniper SE, in the UK.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The UK energy regulator is preparing to ban companies that threaten to turn off their power plants at short notice from then demanding “excessive” prices to remain operational.
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, or Ofgem, wants to clamp down on an “off-on” trading tactic that led National Grid Plc’s grid operator to pay record amounts to power companies last winter to address shortfalls. The new license condition, designed to prevent companies’ profiting from supply gaps that they helped create, will be announced in a consultation paper that’s scheduled to be published later today. The rules are likely to be in place by October.