SSE overstated generation payments in its feed-in tariff (FIT) annual submissions to Ofgem due to an “administrative error” and will now pay out more than £705,000.
The company will pay £455,705 in interest to the FIT levelisation fund and £250,000 to Ofgem’s voluntary redress fund for misreporting the costs it incurred through making FIT payments to eligible low carbon generators.
As a result of the error, the supplier received £4.07 million more in payments from the annual levelisation fund than it was entitled to.
SSE reported the error to Ofgem and has paid back the overpayment. It has since changed its reporting processes following an independent audit.
Ofgem has now closed the compliance case into SSE without taking enforcement action. The regulator said it has considered the steps SSE has taken to address its failings and the redress it has agreed to pay to help support vulnerable customers.
A spokesperson for SSE Energy Services said: “Last year, SSE became aware of an administrative error which resulted in an underpayment to Ofgem’s feed-in tariffs levelisation fund. As soon as the issue came to light, SSE notified Ofgem and is repaying the full amount plus interest.
“SSE will also voluntarily contribute £250,000 to Ofgem’s redress scheme to support vulnerable customers and has reviewed its reporting processes to ensure the same mistake does not happen again. It’s welcome that Ofgem has closed the compliance case with no further action required.”
The independent audit was carried out to identify the causes of the error. It recommended actions to improve SSE’s FIT reporting processes and reduce the risk of future non-compliance, which SSE is currently implementing.
SSE must now report to Ofgem the outcomes of the changes.
The FIT scheme is a government programme designed to promote the uptake of renewable and low-carbon electricity generation technologies.
The scheme requires participating licensed electricity suppliers to make payments on both generation and export from eligible installations.
Suppliers are required to make quarterly and annual submissions in respect of costs they have incurred through making FIT payments to eligible generators.