British Gas owner Centrica pledges to protect £300m customer deposits
British Gas owner Centrica has said it is committed to protecting its customers’ deposits – which currently stand at near £300m (£294m).
It has also urged Ofgem to ensure suppliers consumers’ money is protected by suppliers through its regulations.
Centrica boss Chris O’Shea explained: “The current energy crisis has shown just how important it is that energy companies are financially resilient. Had a robust regulatory framework been in place before the current crisis, many of the energy company failures we have seen in recent months could have been avoided.”
Since September, 26 energy suppliers have ceased trading amid market carnage, while Bulb Energy has entered de-facto nationalisation, propped up by £1.8bn in public funds – the biggest bailout since RBS in 2008.
Centrica has snapped up three-quarters of a million new customers through the supplier of last process during the escalating market volatility.
Ofgem has brought in a range of measures in recent weeks to help stabilise the domestic energy market – including a policy to compensate firms when customers switch suppliers.
Alongside industry reforms, it has hiked the consumer price cap over 50 per cent from April, meaning households on default tariffs could face annual bills of £2,000.
Sky News reported on Wednesday that Ofgem faced a legal hearing on Thursday that aimed to limit the regulator’s ability to claim hundreds of millions of pounds from the remnants of collapsed suppliers.