The Association of Convenience Stores is welcoming plans to give more small businesses, including forecourt operators, access to a government energy ombudsman.
The proposals, from energy regulator Ofgem, will see firms with fewer than 50 employees, as well as “microbusinesses” currently covered by the rules, able to seek help from the ombudsman, an arbitrator who can help resolve disputes between energy providers and their customers. Currently this support is only available to businesses with up to 10 employees, as well as households.
The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero says the scheme, which could be opened to around 200,000 businesses for the first time, provides an alternative to costly court fees.
ACS says it has long called on Ofgem to align small business protections with those afforded to members of the public when dealing with energy companies, stating that most independent retailers have no more resources or knowledge about energy contracts than an average domestic consumer.
ACS chief executive James Lowman says: “We welcome the proposed expansion of the energy ombudsman’s remit as an important step toward better protections for local shops. Convenience stores are typically high users of energy and open long hours, resulting in some falling outside of Ofgem’s existing microbusiness definition despite being small independent businesses. We will continue to call on Ofgem to make the energy market fairer for our members, and to hold rogue suppliers to account.”
