Ofgem warns Solarplicity over late payments, may revoke licence
Ofgem has again said it may revoke energy supplier Solarplicity’s licence after the company was warned over missed payments to renewable energy generators.
It is the second time Ofgem has warned Solarplicity for not paying the so-called feed-in-tariff to (FIT) generators.
Read more: Regulator Ofgem won’t extend ban on energy supplier Solarplicity
In early May Ofgem told the firm to pay what it owed to generators by 16 May. Not doing so would risk its license.
The company met those payments, Ofgem said today, but has since missed others.
It means that Ofgem will now consult on whether to extend the provisional order it make in May.
The regulator said it has “concerns around Solarplicity’s ability to make future FIT generator payments.”
“If the supplier continues to fail to meet the requirements set out in the confirmed provisional order, Ofgem could start the process of revoking its licence to operate,” it said.
The feed-in-tariff system is designed to compensate small-scale renewable energy producers for what they generate. Most energy suppliers have obligations under the system.
If confirmed, the provisional order will run until Solarplicity sorts out its payments, Ofgem said.
Solarplicity said it was “disappointed” by Ofgem’s decision. “We have gone to great lengths to demonstrate that we are already complying with the requirements it set out in May,” it said.
“All payments due to FIT generators are being made and arrangements are in place to make all future payments,” it said.
When asked if this meant some payments had not yet been made, a spokesperson for Solarplicity declined to answer.
Customer ban
It is not the first time Ofgem has taken action against the energy supplier this year.
In February it banned the company from taking on new customers for poor service.
Three months later Ofgem said it would not extend that ban, but that Solarplicity had agreed to a self-imposed ban until August.
Today the regulator said that while Solarplicity had “significantly improved its customers service” in some areas, “Ofgem still has some concerns in relation to how it treats vulnerable customers and those struggling to pay their bills.”
It will actively monitor the situation, it said.
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