Ofgem to adopt measures to reform UK retail energy market

By Nina Chestney

LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Britain's energy regulator Ofgem said on Wednesday it would implement a number of measures to improve competition in the UK retail energy market after an investigation found that customers had been overcharged by billions of pounds.

In June, the Competition Markets Authority ordered Britain's largest energy suppliers to cap some of their most expensive tariffs.

The CMA also asked Ofgem to adopt some measures, such as managing a database to allow rival suppliers to contact customers who have been on the most expensive tariffs for more than three years and monitoring companies' compliance with the price cap from April 2017.

Ofgem said it expects the most vulnerable customers to save around 75 pounds ($100) a year from April 2017 due to the cap.

"We want to work with the industry and consumer bodies to act on the recommendations addressed to us quickly and effectively," Ofgem's chief executive Dermot Nolan said in a letter to the CMA.

Ofgem said it will work closely with the energy suppliers to help customers who remain on expensive tariffs get a better deal, trialling more effective reminders on customer bills to encourage them to compare tariffs.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) will also pilot a database service next year, which will go live in the first half of 2018, and work with consumer bodies to protect personal data.

Ofgem also said it would remove a rule which forced energy suppliers to offer only four tariff options each for electricity and for gas by the end of this year.

The regulator added that it would publish a more detailed plan on how to implement the remedies in the autumn. ($1 = 0.7523 pounds) (Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Adrian Croft)