On 21 September 2022, the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (“the Authority) issued a Provisional Order to Scottish Power Energy Retail Ltd. (trading under: “Scottish Power”) (“SP”) in accordance with section 25(2) of the Electricity Act 1989 and 28(2) of the Gas Act 1986.
It appeared to the Authority that SP was contravening or was likely to contravene Standard Licence Conditions SLC 27.8A(b), 27.8A(c) and 27.8A(d). The behaviours that gave rise to these concerns (and resulted in the issuing of the Provisional Order) related to SP’s assessment of a customer’s ability to pay debt (including the setting of default repayment rates) and not exploring all available options to support customers expressing concerns about the affordability of debt repayment plans (including customers in vulnerable situations).
The Provisional Order set out a number of actions for SP to complete by specified deadlines. These included revision of policies, procedures and scripts, retraining of representatives, contacting customers to ensure repayment plans were affordable, implementing a quality assurance regime and committing to an independent audit. Full details are contained in the provisional order and Notice of Reasons published on 21 September 2022.
On 9 December 2022, the Authority made a Revocation Order in accordance with section 25(7)(c) of the Electricity Act 1989 and section 28(7)(c) of the Gas Act 1986. The Authority decided that the terms of the provisional order were no longer requisite for the purpose of ensuring SP’s compliance as SP completed the actions outlined in the Provisional Order on 21 November 2022.
The provisional order is no longer in place.