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PLANS ON ICE

Ofgem delays energy database that could help millions of households save up to £400 every year

The database was due to launch in April next year but plans have been “deferred”, Ofgem confirmed today

PLANS for an energy switching database that could help millions of households save as much as £400 every year have been postponed.

The energy regulator Ofgem confirmed today that the new tool will not launch as expected in April next year - and there is no date for when it will be introduced.

 Plans postponed...Ofgem says it has "deferred" the start date of a new switching database
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Plans postponed...Ofgem says it has "deferred" the start date of a new switching databaseCredit: PA:Press Association

The database was first announced by the Competition and Markets Authority last year after its investigation into the energy market.

Under the original plans, energy firms would have been forced to give details of customers who have been on standard tariffs for more than three years.

This information would then have been put onto a database, allowing rival firms to contact customers to offer them cheaper deals.

A beta version of the database was being trialled by the energy regulator but it has not released information about how the test went.

Ofgem data released in December showed that millions of households are overpaying for gas and electricity because they are on expensive standard tariffs.

While a Sun investigation last year found seven in ten families were on the priciest tariffs – paying up to £389 a year more than people on their firm’s cheapest deal.

A spokesperson from Ofgem said: “We are committed to developing a remedy that works for consumers and encourages greater consumer engagement.

“We propose implementing a database remedy when we are sure it is secure, protects customer’s data privacy and benefits consumers.

“We have decided to continue testing variants of the disengaged customer database remedy and therefore we are deferring the April 2018 target national rollout date originally set by the Competition and Markets Authority.”


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