29 November 2007
The newly-formed Energy Supply Ombudsman (ESO) has been functioning well in its first year of operations, Ofgem has said.
However, according to the regulator, energy providers in the UK need to do more to promote the ombudsman to the public.
The ESO helps customers with complaints against energy firms, through which compensation of up to £5,000 can be awarded if they are upheld.
Research from Ofgem also shows that customer satisfaction with the new ombudsman is "high" - with over 1,450 investigations initiated by the service in 2007 so far.
Ofgem Chief Executive Alistair Buchanan said: "Compensation allows customers to switch their supplier if they receive poor service and this remains the ultimate sanction, but the ESO is now giving customers an additional route to get their complaints resolved.
"It also places additional pressure on companies to do all they can to resolve complaints before they get to the ESO."
Customers were also advised by the watchdog that the amount of time after which an incident occurs that customers can lodge a complaint in will be cut from 12 to eight weeks in the New Year.