Ofgem is forced to pay consultants millions of pounds to sort out the collapse of gas and electricity suppliers after households were left to foot £3 billion bill when firms went bust
- Regulator has spent £32million on consultants since 31 firms collapsed last year
- Contracts have been given out to consultancies like Baringa and KPMG
The UK’s energy regulator is being forced to pay consultants millions of pounds to help clear up the mess left by the collapse of gas and electricity suppliers.
Household customers were left to foot a bill of nearly £3 billion when 31 firms went bust during 2021 and 2022, through a levy added to all bills.
Since the start of the crisis, Ofgem has spent £32 million on consultants, according to Tussell, a firm which tracks Government contracts.
Baringa recently landed a six-month deal worth £330,000 to help out with Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) payments – costs incurred by suppliers who step in when another firm goes bust.
At least 13 other contracts have been given out by the regulator, including to KPMG, which earned almost £2.5 million for five contracts.
Since the start of the crisis, Ofgem has spent £32 million on consultants, according to Tussell, a firm which tracks Government contracts.
These SoLR claims will total around £2.7 billion, the National Audit Office said. The cost of Bulb failing – the biggest of the energy suppliers to go bust – is not yet clear and will be in addition to that.
An executive at a big energy firm told The Mail On Sunday: ‘Clearly Ofgem don’t have the staff to sort out the mess they have created.’
An Ofgem spokesman said: ‘The scale of the gas crisis meant Ofgem [needed] to bring experts in quickly. Contracting external experts has let us add skills for a limited period.’
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