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Britain’s energy regulator is cracking down on power station owners gaming the electricity system to make “excessive profits”.
Ofgem plans to introduce new licence conditions after a probe found some generators have been holding back electricity supplies so they can fetch higher prices in the market for back-up power generation.
The practice has pushed up costs for consumers at the height of last year’s energy crisis, contributing to a total bill of £3.1bn to keep supply and demand matched in 2021-22 through the so-called balancing mechanism.
Eleanor Warburton, Ofgem’s acting director for energy systems management and security, said the proposed new licence conditions will “ensure electricity generators don’t take advantage of existing rules to make excessive profits”.
