Delaying or failing to compensate energy customers has cost three prominent domestic energy suppliers in Britain a hefty sum of £8 million.

E.ON Next, Good Energy and Octopus Energy have faced penalties for either missing or unduly delaying statutory compensation payments owed to their customers.

These payments are triggered when a supplier fails to provide a final bill within six weeks after a customer switches to another provider.

To combat delays in final billing, energy regulator Ofgem introduced additional “Guaranteed Standards of Performance” (GSOP) in May 2020.

This marks the first time the regulator has taken compliance action for compensation delays under GSOP related to final billing performance standards.

The GSOP rules ensure that customers are compensated in cases of delayed supplier switches, erroneous switching, or late production of final bills, which can cause significant stress and potential financial harm.

These standards will be particularly crucial this year as switching activity is expected to rise with the energy market recovery and customers seeking more affordable tariffs.

Neil Kenward, Director for Strategy at Ofgem, emphasised that these standards were implemented to ensure customers receive the service they deserve when switching suppliers.