OFGEM UK: Role, Rules & Commercial Energy Guide

Overview

OFGEM stands for the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets. It is a non-ministerial government department that regulates the companies running the pipes, wires, and retail supply chains behind the electricity and gas that reach homes and businesses in Great Britain.

Its statutory duties sit primarily under the Gas Act 1986, the Electricity Act 1989, and the Utilities Act 2000, with further powers added by later legislation. The core aim is to protect the interests of existing and future energy customers, which the regulator pursues through licence conditions, market rules, enforcement action, and consumer protection standards.

OFGEM issues licences to suppliers, network operators, and generators, and those licences come with conditions covering customer service, billing practices, metering, and fair treatment. It also runs schemes supporting the shift to lower-carbon energy. For commercial property owners, OFGEM is relevant mainly because it shapes how suppliers deal with business customers, even though some of its strongest consumer-facing protections are aimed at domestic households rather than commercial accounts.

Key steps

1. Identify who your energy supplier is and what type of contract you hold. Commercial energy contracts vary widely, from fixed-term deals to pass-through arrangements and deemed contracts that apply when you move into premises without signing anything. Knowing exactly what you are on is the starting point for working out which OFGEM protections and rules might be relevant to you.
2. Check whether your business qualifies as a micro-business for OFGEM purposes. OFGEM applies enhanced protections to micro-business consumers, covering areas like contract renewal notices, transparency of terms, and dispute handling. Larger commercial users fall outside these specific rules, so it is worth confirming where your organisation sits before assuming a particular protection applies.
3. Review your contract terms, renewal dates, and termination windows carefully. Many commercial energy disputes come from missed termination windows that roll customers onto more expensive rates. Diarise the key dates, keep copies of all correspondence with your supplier, and make sure any changes to pricing or terms are confirmed in writing rather than agreed over the phone without a record.
4. Raise concerns with your supplier first and follow their complaints process. OFGEM expects customers to give the supplier a proper chance to resolve a complaint before escalating. Use the supplier's published complaints procedure, keep notes of conversations, and request a deadlock letter or final response if the matter cannot be resolved, because that is usually what you need to escalate further.
5. Escalate unresolved disputes to the Energy Ombudsman where eligible. For domestic and micro-business customers, the Energy Ombudsman can investigate complaints that have not been settled after the supplier's process has run its course, or after a set period. Decisions can be binding on the supplier if the customer accepts them. Larger commercial users generally need to pursue contractual routes instead.