4 December 2007
energywatch yesterday issued its reaction to the ongoing Ofgem consultation into which businesses should be included in its new standards guidelines.
The consumer body said that the Ofgem guidelines should cover all small firms with ten or fewer employees.
As a result, customer service standards safeguarded by the guidelines would apply to the vast majority of UK firms.
Allan Asher, Chief Executive of energywatch said: "We know from thousands of businesses that complain to us that the energy market is delivering neither choice nor value to them.
"Identifying which businesses are covered by the Ofgem scheme is critical. Unless Ofgem get this right, there is the potential for hundreds of thousands of small businesses to be excluded from necessary protections - we encourage businesses to get in touch with their trade bodies and get involved in Ofgem's consultation process."
Yesterday, energywatch also criticised Ofgem for its new gas distribution pricing structure, which set a limit of £5 billion on network expenditure from energy firms.
The consumer group said that this would allow energy providers to hike up gas bills by as much as £2 per year for every UK customer.