E.ON to pay customers £2.5million after energy efficiency errors

Ofgem has fined E.ON after the energy giant made mistakes in reporting the number of energy efficient light bulbs it sent out.

The energy company E.ON has been ordered to pay out £3 million by energy regulator Ofgem after it failed to correctly report how many energy saving light bulbs it had sent out.

It will have to pay out £2.5million to vulnerable households, starting this October. Around 18,500 households who currently receive a Warm Home Discount will be eligible for £135 each of this money.

It will also pay a £500,000 fine to Ofgem.

False records

E.ON had said 3.4million free energy saving light bulbs had been sent out to customers in Britain in 2010 as part of the Government’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) programme, which has since ended.

But it was unable to prove this and therefore found to be in breach of the obligation. It was also revealed that light bulbs which were meant to be sent out free in Britain were bring sold in the Republic of Ireland.

As part of CERT, all large energy suppliers were required to deliver energy efficiency measures and sending out free bulbs to replace more costly incandescent ones was one of the commitments.

In response Tony Cocker, chief executive for E.ON, said: "We're sorry that these mistakes were made in 2010 and Ofgem has received a board-level assurance that the necessary changes have been made. Our controls should have been stronger and our processes more robust.”

Ofgem fine

The size of the fine is to show that “Ofgem takes reporting failures seriously” says Sarah Harrison, Senior Partner in charge of enforcement at the regulator.

Ofgem also said the fine could have been significantly higher if E.ON hadn’t been so compliant.

Warm Home discounts

The money from E.ON will go to people who are eligible to receive the Warm Home Discount.

Some customers will automatically get this discount, such as those aged under 75 and receiving only the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit or those aged more than 75 and receiving the Guarantee Credit and the Savings element of Pension Credit.

Other customers may be eligible to apply for this money but they must be receiving a specific benefit, such as families who receive Child Tax Credit with an income of £16,190 or less. A full list of eligible benefits can be found at www.eonenergy.com/warmhomediscount.

Applications for this cash can be made on the E.ON website.

If you are having problems paying your energy bills there are lots of things you can do to save money, such as turning the thermostat down or switching companies. Every time you switch you can make an average saving of up to £300 so it’s worth considering.

Our article – Ten ways to save on energy – has more information on saving energy around the home.

Are you an E.ON customer? Do you think the fine is high enough? Or should the company be paying more? Let us know in the Comments box below.

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