Ofgem axes four week rule
Published on : 02/08/2007
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Energy market regulator Ofgem has announced that it has axed the 28-day rule - which allows consumers to switch supplier just four weeks after signing up with another.
It says that it has ditched the rule because it makes it difficult for suppliers to offer long-term deals that include the installation of energy-saving measures.
Ofgem says that the abolishment of the rule also comes as one element of a new project, named the Supply Licence Review, which aims to lower licence conditions for new entrants into the supply markets and increase innovation.
Included in the Supply Licence Review are measures that should half "the number of licence conditions" and simplify "the remaining rules to open the way for new entrants to the supply market".
Conditions under which companies can offer smart meters will also be revised - and improvements will be made to the availability of information on carbon monoxide risks, Ofgem says.
"We have fixed in place protection to ensure that vulnerable customers are well served by the market while clearing the decks to allow innovation. We look now to the companies to respond," Ofgem chief executive Alistair Buchanan commented.
"The Supply Licence Review is a model piece of regulation, taking out unneeded legacies from the early days of privatisation, improving the clarity of what is kept - all to the potential benefit of customers, industry and the environment."
