BES signals strong support for E.ON’s commercial regulation strategy

Energy supplier BES has signalled strong support for E.ON’s proposal to regulate the commercial energy supply sector through its suggested ‘Third Party Intermediary (TPI) Code of Practice for Micro-businesses, by writing to Ofgem to confirm its commitment to this important initiative.

BES has commended E.ON for taking the lead on an issue that it deems to be vital for the future of energy supply within the commercial sector. It has also confirmed its early commitment to financial support for the body that E.ON proposes is created to regulate the industry and uphold its suggested TPI Code of Practice.

BES believes the code outlined by E.ON is long overdue within the industry. Although it operates its own TPI Code of Practice, as a voluntary level of regulation, as well as providing a two-stage comfort call process to deliver service excellence to customers signed up by its TPIs, it has long felt that the industry as a whole could only be effectively regulated if one of the big six energy suppliers threw its weight and resource behind an initiative of the kind proposed by E.ON.

It also feels that a supplier and not a broker-funded initiative is the only sensible way forward for the industry’s regulation and an independently-managed Code of Practice, the only form of regulation that can feasibly work within an industry in which suggestions of mis-selling are prevalent.

“The E.ON draft TPI Code of Practice is all-encompassing in its scope and addresses key areas of concern within the commercial energy supply sector”, says BES’s Managing Director, Andy Pilley. “Its robust recommendations would make the industry far more transparent, effective and ethical, but more importantly, would have relevance as a code, if adopted by the majority of suppliers in the industry and a critical mass in terms of both market share and numbers.

“Suppliers need to be taking the lead on regulation and encouraging brokers to upskill, recognise their responsibilities when dealing with customers and maintain better records and systems. We commend E.ON for grasping the nettle of regulation and acting on behalf of the industry and its public image and reputation”.

BES hopes more energy suppliers will follow its lead in supporting the Code of Practice, so that it can potentially come into force, in line with E.ON’s proposed timescales, by the start of 2013. It also urges Ofgem to embrace E.ON’s recommendations and enable the industry to have meaningful regulation that will enable it to face the challenges of the 21st century energy sector.