Dartford MP, Dr Howard Stoate has met senior officials from OFGEM, the energy regulator, in the House of Commons to discuss July’s three day power cut in Dartford.

OFGEM is in the process of auditing EDF’s claim for an exemption to the ‘Guaranteed Standards of Performance Regulations’ that require companies to pay compensation to customers for major power interruptions. The company has argued that the regulations should not apply in this case as the power cut was caused by an arson attack that led to a fire on its high voltage network.

Dr Stoate called the meeting to discuss the progress of the audit and to underline his unhappiness about the amount of reimbursement that EDF has offered customers to date.

EDF has offered customers without power for more than 24 hours a goodwill payment of £50 in lieu of compensation but Dr Stoate has told the company that this isn’t enough given the length of the power cut.  The MP believes that customers should receive an additional £25 on top of the first £50 for each subsequent day without power.

Dr Stoate said “I wanted to make it clear to OFGEM that I think customers who were without power for two or three days deserve far more than they are currently being offered by EDF in the way of reimbursement. I left them in no doubt as to my feelings on the matter and they promised to take my views into account.”

“The officials I spoke to told me that the audit is likely to be completed by the end of this month. It will assess the extent to which EDF’s actions – or lack of actions – contributed to the power cut. It will also look at whether the company took all appropriate steps to restore power quickly and to limit the number of households affected by the power cut. The other issue the audit will examine is what changes need to be made to the network to prevent a similar incident occurring in the future.”

“They also told me that anyone who is unhappy with the payment EDF has offered customers has the right to seek additional compensation from the company. To do this customers need to follow EDF’s complaints procedure which is set out on the company’s website. I would urge anyone who is dissatisfied with EDF’s offer to follow this advice.”

Notes

Dr Stoate met Rachel Fletcher, OFGEM’s Director of Distribution and Rachel Hatfield OFGEM’s Head of Government Affairs.

EDF’s complaints procedure can be accessed through the following link http://www.edfenergy.com/products-services/networks/customer-services/contact-us.shtml#