Business
British Gas agrees PPM settlement
Centrica plc's subsidiary, British Gas, will pay £20 million to Ofgem's Voluntary Redress Fund to resolve an investigation into legacy prepayment meter practices between February 2018 and February 2023. British Gas will also conduct a review of customer records from the period, providing redress and compensation, and writing off up to £70 million in energy debt for vulnerable customers. The company has already stopped involuntary installations and third-party contractor use for debt recovery, and Ofgem has acknowledged strengthened safeguards. Centrica does not anticipate any impact on its 2026 financial guidance from these matters. Disclaimer*
About this update from Centrica Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\nCentrica plc (\"the Company\")\n15 May 2026\n \nOfgem closes investigation of British Gas's installation of prepayment meters under warrant\n\nThe Company announces that its wholly owned subsidiary, British Gas Trading Limited (\"British Gas\"), has agreed to pay £20m into Ofgem's Voluntary Redress Fund following Ofgem's investigation into legacy prepayment meter practices. The investigation followed issues identified in 2023, covered activity between February 2018 to February 2023, and was resolved with the regulator through alternative action.\nWhen issues came to light three years ago, it was clear that some customers who had an involuntary prepayment meter installed were not treated with the care and respect that they deserved. There were also errors in identifying some customers in vulnerable situations who should have been excluded. British Gas apologised, immediately stopped involuntary installations, and ended the use of third‑party contractors for field debt recovery activity. The company has since strengthened governance, oversight and safeguards for vulnerable customers, which Ofgem has recognised in its decision. British Gas has not restarted warrant‑based prepayment meter installations.\nIn addition, British Gas will now undertake a comprehensive review of its customer records from the relevant period and provide redress and compensation wherever possible for customers who were affected. This will include compensation to affected customers during the period 2018-21 (in addition to the compensation already paid for the period 2022-23), alongside the write‑off of up to £70m in energy debt for vulnerable customers (a proportion of which may be used as compensation for some customers). Customers do not need to take any action and, where applicable, will be contacted directly by British Gas.\nChris O'Shea, Group Chief Executive of Centrica, said:\n\"What happened should never have happened, and I am sorry to the prepayment customers who were affected. When we get things wrong, we make them right. When these issues came to light in 2023 - we apologised, stopped the activity immediately and took rapid action to improve our processes and change how we engage with customers in debt, particularly those in vulnerable situations.\nOver the last three years, we have treated this matter with the seriousness it deserves a...