Overview
- Centrica CEO Chris O’Shea urged Ofgem to bar Octopus Energy from taking on new customers for not meeting April’s per-customer capital buffer rules designed to prevent supplier failures.
- Ofgem’s financial resilience regulations require suppliers to hold sufficient reserves per customer or secure regulator-approved plans to reach those levels within a set timeframe.
- Octopus Energy, which holds a 23.7% market share as the UK’s largest household supplier, confirmed it missed the initial buffer deadline but says it has an agreed compliance roadmap with Ofgem.
- The regulator defends its approach by allowing suppliers with credible capitalisation plans to continue signing customers under strict monitoring until they fulfil buffer targets.
- In its half-year results, Centrica reported a £50 million drop in British Gas profits to £133 million and group underlying earnings of £549 million as the sector navigates cost and debt pressures.