Energy firm OVO to hand out £3.4m in goodwill payments after watchdog investigation

OVO will hand out £3.4m in "goodwill payments" to customers as part of a £10.4m settlement with the energy regulator following an investigation into its policies for supporting vulnerable customers. 

The provider, which serves around four million customers, will also pay £7m into the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Fund as part of the settlement.

It comes after the regulator, Ofgem, found that OVO's process failures between 2018 and 2024 could have put some prepayment customers at a "clear risk of harm".

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Its investigation found the firm had breached rules designed to protect customers in vulnerable situations.

It said OVO failed consistently to monitor and accurately record customer interactions, with evidence showing that key checks and safeguards were not always carried out.

The regulator also identified issues with staff training materials, which were at times unclear, inconsistent, and contained conflicting guidance.

Cathryn Scott, director of market oversight and enforcement for Ofgem, said: "Prepayment meters are a positive choice for many customers, helping them stay in control of their energy use and reporting high levels of satisfaction - but it's not suitable for everyone and strong monitoring must be in place to protect vulnerable consumers."

What does this mean for customers?

As a result of the investigation, some customers will receive debt write-offs or credit payments.

OVO said customers who may be eligible for a "goodwill payment" will be contacted directly.

It has not provided details on how many people will be eligible or when they should expect to receive the payments.

It added that customers do not need to take any action.

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An OVO spokesperson said: "We accept that some of our historic processes fell short of expected standards, and we are sorry for that.

"Keeping our customers safe and supported is hugely important to us and we recognise there were areas where we needed to do better.

"We have since worked to strengthen our policies and systems, including a new Safe and Reasonably Practicable (SARP) policy, strengthening how we identify and support our vulnerable customers. This settlement reflects both those historic issues and the improvements we have made."

Last month, OVO was taken over by E.ON to form Britain's largest energy supplier with nearly 10 million customers.

(c) Sky News 2026: Energy firm OVO to hand out £3.4m in goodwill payments after watchdog investigation