Ovo Energy is to pay £1.2 million to Ofgem’s consumer redress fund after SSE’s retail arm failed to hit its smart meter target for the second year in a row.
Between 2016 and 2019, suppliers with more than 250,000 customers had to set annual installation targets and Ofgem monitors performance against these.
SSE also missed its 2018 target for gas smart meter installations and paid out £700,000 in amends. The announcement made today however relates to both gas and electricity meters.
After acquiring SSE Energy Services for £500 million in January this year, Ovo is responsible for paying for the historic failing.
Tony Keeling, managing director at SSE Energy Services, who also jointly led the retail business prior to Ovo’s takeover, said: “Today’s news relates to the reporting year of 2019, predating Ovo Energy’s ownership of SSE Energy Services, which it acquired in 2020.
“Since Ovo’s acquisition of SSE Energy Services, we have significantly improved our smart meter rollout programme, to ensure that we can install smart meters in more homes across the UK – a crucial part of our Plan Zero strategy and the transition to net zero.
“Ovo Energy has consistently met and exceeded all of its smart meter targets, with over half of its customers currently benefiting from the technology.”
Ofgem added that due to the voluntary payment of £1.2 million, it has decided not to take formal enforcement action.