Gnergy has been issued with a notice of failure to comply with a final order over unpaid Renewables Obligation payments by Ofgem.
The supplier has failed to comply with a final order requiring it to pay £673,876.62 plus interest to the Renewables Obligation buy-out fund, Ofgem said.
Suppliers have to demonstrate that enough electricity has been sourced from renewables by presenting Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) by 1 September. If this obligation is not met, suppliers must make up the shortfall by paying into Ofgem’s buy-out fund by 31 August, with a late payment window extending to 31 October.
Gnergy was issued with a final order on 29 October 2019to pay the outstanding sum by 31 October 2019, however the supplier was “unable to give Ofgem any assurance it would meet its obligation”, the regulator said.
Ofgem is now taking further enforcement action by starting the process that “may result in the revocation of the supplier’s licence”.
However, Gnergy CEO Tikendra Dewan said a meeting had taken place with Ofgem on 19 November 2019 to explain the company’s new vision for 2020.
“Gnergy has merged with a company which ensures a very large investment in the Company.
“Given the recent holiday season and the funds expected being transferred from abroad, we requested Ofgem to allow us some time, on the understanding that we will abide with the instruction as per the warning letter,” Dewan said, adding that Gnergy’s legal team official confirmed its position to Ofgem.
“Had we been allowed ten days to clear the payment we could have avoided this unnecessary bad publicity,” Dewan continued.
Gnergy was one of four suppliers issued with final orders last year, together with Delta Gas and Power, Robin Hood Energy and Toto Energy. Since then, Toto Energy has officially ceased trading as it could not pay its ROCs, becoming the 16th small energy supplier to go bust in two years.
Robin Hood was openly critical of how Ofgem managed the ROC process,stating that it had discussed late payment options with the regulator. It subsequently received a loan from Nottingham Council that enabled it to pay its ROCs, and has allowed it to continue to trade.
Ofgem has now paid out £109,529,764 to supplierswho presented their ROCs on time.
