Investigations and enforcement

We expect regulated companies to abide by their licence conditions and/or the applicable legislation.  However, if we think companies may be breaching the obligations of their licence or other relevant conditions or requirements, we have a number of powers under energy and water legislation to take enforcement action against the regulated company. 

In particular we have the following powers:

  • to make an enforcement order; and
  • to impose a financial penalty.

A failure to comply with an enforcement order and/or a failure to pay the financial penalty can be enforced through legal proceedings and/or lead to revocation of licence.

Our Enforcement Policy Approach and Procedure and Procedure Flowchart provides information on what to expect when we initiate an investigation or take enforcement action.  

All investigations, compliance work and enforcement action undertaken by the Utility Regulator is carried out in line with the published Procedure and using the prioritisation principles therein.  The Procedure outlines what is expected when the Utility Regulator initiates an investigation. It offers transparency and operational certainty for industry, while providing the Utility Regulator with the capacity to tailor the process to suit individual cases.  The new procedure also sets out details on how the Utility Regulator will publish information related to cases under investigation.

The Financial Penalties Policy is required by statute and covers both whether to impose a financial penalty and a process for determining the amount of the penalty.

This section includes details on the actions taken by the Utility Regulator, in line with the published Enforcement Procedures since 2016. To date, the Utility Regulator has secured £920,000.00 in charitable donations from supply companies investigated for suspected breaches of their licences and/or other applicable legislation. 

Open Investigations

Please note: an open investigation does not mean a company has breached licence conditions or other obligations.

Closed investigations