Ofgem has the power to fine British Gas up to 10 per cent of group turnover – which was £12.3 billion in 2011 – for failing to meet its Cert obligations.
It is thought British Gas did not meet its super priority group (SPG) target for Cert, before the 31 December 2012 deadline passed.
A source close to the company said the utility expected to miss the SPG target due to the “challenging” goals it was set.
However, it is thought the punishment will be much lower due to mitigation measures – such as late delivery and meeting the overall energy efficiency targets. Ofgem may strike a deal for the company to compensate customers directly rather than pay a fine, which would go to the Treasury.
Jon Kimber, managing director of British Gas New Energy, said: “We are confident we will have met our total targeted carbon savings across all our environmental obligations, after taking into account the latest guidance published by Ofgem. In meeting these targeted carbon savings we will have delivered more benefits to vulnerable customers than was originally envisaged by government”.
Four of the major energy suppliers – Eon, EDF Energy, Npower and SSE – claimed they had met all of the energy efficiency targets, while Scottish Power could only confirm it had met its overall target.