Ofgem appoints new enforcement panel
16 Apr 2014 04:03 PM
Ofgem has today announced the members of its
newly-created body, the Enforcement Decision Panel
(EDP)
The
EDP has been established to take important decisions in contested enforcement
cases on behalf of Ofgem. These decisions can involve imposing a significant
financial penalty on energy companies when they break regulatory rules. The EDP
will help Ofgem to protect consumers’ interests in dealing with
enforcement cases whilst maintaining the separation between its internal
investigation team and this independent decision making panel.
John Swift QC, a senior competition lawyer and
regulator, has been appointed as Chair of the EDP. The other members of the
panel are experienced decision makers from a range of backgrounds, including
consumer protection, financial services and competition law.
David Gray, Ofgem Chairman
said: “Enforcement is central to Ofgem’s work in
protecting consumers. We have a strong track record of dealing with enforcement
cases, having imposed over £85m of penalties and redress since 2010 on
energy companies who fail to meet their obligations. Our investigations help to
secure robust decisions and act as a strong deterrent to prevent future poor
behaviour.
“The Enforcement Decision Panel will bring a
wealth of experience to the table and help Ofgem as we continue in our role to
protect current and future consumers.”
The
appointment of the EDP follows Ofgem’s recent review of how it conducts
its enforcement activities. As part of that it is consulting on its draft
revised Enforcement Guidelines and a draft Statement of Policy on Penalties and
Consumer Redress. In addition, Ofgem has announced that it has decided to place
a greater emphasis on deterrence when imposing penalties for future breaches.
This change will come into effect where evidence of rule breaking comes to our
attention on or after 1 June. This is likely to mean a substantial increase
from the levels of penalty that it has typically imposed to
date.
-Ends-
Notes to editors
1. The Enforcement Decision
Panel (EDP)
The
Enforcement Decision Panel (EDP) is a newly-created body within Ofgem, and will
take decisions on contested cases on behalf of the Ofgem Board. Members of the
panel will play a crucial role in continuing to deliver Ofgem’s central
duty to protect consumers, facilitate competition and ensure the integrity of
the wholesale energy market.
The
EDP’s decisions will be independent from the investigating team and the
Ofgem Board will not change or over rule EDP decisions.
Chair
John Swift QC has combined private
practice with public sector regulation over the whole of his professional
career. In private practice he has appeared as Leading Counsel in key cases in
the UK and EU, representing both regulators and the private sector. In the
public sector he was the Rail Regulator between 1993 and 1998, and from 2009 to
2014 has been a Member of the Cooperation and Competition Panel (now part of
Monitor)
Members
Robin Callender Smith is a member
and a Deputy Chairman of the FCA’s Regulatory Decisions Committee. A
media law and information rights expert, he has worked as a barrister since
1977 after spending four years as a journalist. He is also an Information
Rights Judge and an Immigration Judge.
Amelia Fletcher is Professor of
Competition Policy at the ESRC Centre for Competition Policy at the University
of East Anglia and a Non-Executive Director at the Financial Conduct Authority.
She is also an academic advisor to Ofcom and a member of the Oxera Economic
Council. She was Chief Economist of the Office of Fair Trading until 2013. In
2014 she was awarded an OBE for services to competition and consumer
economics.
Elizabeth France is Chair of the
Security Industry Authority, Chair of the Police Advisory Board for England and
Wales, a member of the British Transport Police Authority, Vice President of
Aberystwyth University and a member of the General Assembly of Manchester
University. She is a former Chief Ombudsman and Chief Executive of the
Ombudsman Service Ltd., which provided the Energy Ombudsman Service, the
Telecommunications Ombudsman Service and the Surveyors Ombudsman Service. In
June 2002 she was awarded a CBE for services to data
protection.
Trevor Jones has gained over
thirty years’ experience in the Financial Services industry at businesses
including Barclays Bank and Lloyds Banking Group. He has held a number of
senior roles including the leadership of Risk, Financial Crime, Compliance,
Audit and Finance functions, as well as shaping the business by driving the
Governance and Compliance agendas for UK banks.
Andrew Long is an experienced
regulatory decision maker and judge. He has written extensively on regulatory
law, including part of a major textbook on financial services regulation. He is
currently Chair of the FCA’s Regulatory Decisions Committee, Chair of the
Determinations Panel of the Pensions Regulator and Panel Chair for the Access
Disputes Committee (of the regulated rail industry). His main career was as a
partner at Pinsent Masons solicitors, where he led the financial services
regulation practice.
Jonathan May has been closely
involved in the development of utility regulation, competition and consumer
policy and practice since the mid-1990s. He was an Executive Director at the
Office of Fair Trading until 2010. Since 2011 he has been a member of the
Competition Appeal Tribunal, the Financial Services Consumer Panel and, until
March this year, a board member of Consumer Futures.
2.
Enforcement
Members of the EDP will be appointed to case decision
panels, as needed by the Panel Chair, to hear and take decisions in individual
cases. Each case decision panel will generally consist of three members,
with one nominated as the Chair.
Once appointed to a case decision panel, the role will
involve delivering Ofgem’s Enforcement Vision by taking decisions on
behalf of Ofgem as to whether there has been a breach of regulatory
obligations, competition laws, or REMIT regulation, and whether a penalty or
redress package should be imposed and if so what level of penalty or redress.
In taking these decisions, the panel will act independently from the
investigating team, against the framework of Ofgem’s policy
objectives.
3. About
Ofgem
Ofgem is the Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets,
which supports the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, the regulator of the
gas and electricity industries in Great Britain. The Authority's functions
are set out mainly in the Gas Act 1986, the Electricity Act 1989, the
Competition Act 1998 and the Utilities Act 2000. In this note, the functions of
the Authority under all the relevant Acts are, for simplicity, described as the
functions of Ofgem.
4. For further press
information contact:
Lisa O’Brien:
020 7901 7426
Dafydd Wyn: 020 3263 9943
Rory Edwards: 020 3263 7246
Out of hours media contact number: 07766 511470