Ofgem found the supplier failed to pass on the mandatory discount to more than 4,000 customers.
Energy firm Utilita is to pay around £277,000 in compensation after failing to pay its Warm Home Discount payments on time, Ofgem said.
The regulator found Utilita – which supplies 800,000 customers – failed to pass on the mandatory discount to more than 4,000 customers over 2023 to 2024 because of an internal error in processing payments.
The Warm Home Discount scheme – which is administered by Ofgem on behalf of the Government – helps eligible energy consumers on low incomes by offering an automatic payment of £150 each year.
Ofgem said Utilita had agreed to pay £247,000 of compensation to those affected, who will receive further payments of up to £150 each. This is in addition to £30,000 of compensation Utilita paid to affected customers shortly after the error was identified.
Cathryn Scott, regulatory director of market oversight and enforcement at Ofgem, said: “The Warm Home Discount is a lifeline for vulnerable energy consumers on low incomes. Even a short delay in making these payments can cause harm to vulnerable customers, so it’s vital that suppliers make these payments on time and without hassle. “Unfortunately, on this occasion, Utilita fell short of our standards by failing to pay some of their customers in a timely manner. Utilita has conducted an audit of their Warm Home Discount processes to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“It’s our duty to protect consumers. Today’s outcome, as well as the findings set out in our Supplier Performance Report, serve as a reminder to all suppliers that failures to make scheme payments on time are unacceptable, and that we can and will take enforcement action to put things right for customers.”
A Utilita spokesman said: “Due to an administrative oversight, we missed the March 31 deadline to process the Warm Home Discount payment for a small cohort of customers. All customers received their payment within 12 days.
“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. We promptly reported our mistake to Ofgem and paid the impacted customers a goodwill gesture.”
