Today we announce that we have closed our formal investigation into whether the electricity supply company, Electric Ireland, has failed to meet the obligations of its licence to supply electricity. This marks the culmination of many months of work.
As a result of our investigation, Electric Ireland is to pay £250,000 to local charities. The company will also carry out a series of comprehensive and independent compliance audits to ensure ongoing licence compliance and has offered a number of assurances and commitments related to its compliance arrangements. This will help to reinforce the steps already taken by the company to address the issues under investigation.
Chief Executive of the Utility Regulator, Jenny Pyper, said:
“Licences help to provide the necessary levels of consumer protection for all customers. We expect all our regulated companies to comply with the conditions as required by their licence and will take the necessary steps to ensure full compliance.
“We have just completed a rigorous investigation which looked closely at a number of obligations in the licence held by Electric Ireland. These included conditions relating to the marketing of electricity, the code of practice on complaints handling and the provision of information to the UR.
“We welcome the payments totalling £250,000 to local charities and the steps already taken by the company to ensure compliance. This will help to ensure customers receive the highest levels of protection as afforded to them through their licence.
“Although this investigation is now closed, we will continue to monitor the progress of the audits, the commitments made by the company and all aspects of licence compliance”.
We are empowered to protect the consumer interests and this investigation was carried out in accordance with the applicable Enforcement Procedure (2016)
Further details of the closing of the formal investigation can be found here:
ESB Independent Energy (NI) Limited TA Electric Ireland – Closure of Compliance Investigation