What is the Energy Ombudsman service?

What is the Energy Ombudsman?

Dealing with an energy supplier that refuses to fix a mistake can be incredibly frustrating. Whether you are facing unexplained bill increases, a faulty smart meter, or poor customer service, you might feel stuck if the company ignores your complaints. This is exactly where the Energy Ombudsman steps in. It is an independent dispute resolution service for Great Britain designed to step in when a consumer and an energy company cannot reach an agreement.

The service acts as a referee. It looks at the evidence from both sides, decides who is right, and has the authority to tell the energy supplier exactly what they must do to put things right. If you accept an Ombudsman decision, it becomes legally binding on the supplier. This means the energy supplier has to follow the instructions, whether that involves refunding money, fixing a technical issue, or paying you compensation for the trouble they caused.

How the service works and who pays for it

A common worry among consumers is that the Ombudsman might take the side of the energy companies. Because the service operates as a private organisation funded by the energy industry, some people assume it works in the suppliers' favour. In reality, the setup is entirely impartial and actually penalises energy companies for failing to resolve issues themselves.

The service is completely free for households to use. Instead of charging the public, the Ombudsman charges the energy suppliers. Crucially, a supplier has to pay a case fee every single time a consumer escalates a complaint to the Ombudsman, regardless of whether the supplier wins or loses the case. This fee structure heavily incentivises energy companies to sort out your problem in-house. If they ignore you or refuse to help, it costs them money the moment the Ombudsman gets involved.

The volume of complaints handled by the service is substantial. In 2025, the Ombudsman accepted around 80,256 cases. While this was a decrease of roughly 14% compared to the previous year, it still shows that tens of thousands of households rely on the service to fix ongoing disputes every year.

What types of complaints do they handle?

The Energy Ombudsman can look into most problems you might have with a gas or electricity supplier, provided the issue relates to your domestic supply. The most common disputes fall into a few specific areas.

Since 1 April 2025, the Energy Ombudsman has been able to consider eligible heat-network disputes; Ofgem began regulating heat networks on 27 January 2026. A heat network is a system where heating and hot water are generated centrally and piped into multiple homes, common in blocks of flats, social housing, and student accommodation. Historically, these consumers had very little protection. Now, Ofgem formally regulates heat networks across Great Britain. This means vulnerable consumers and households connected to these networks have statutory access to the Energy Ombudsman if they have a dispute with their heat supplier.

Recent changes and new enforcement powers

The energy redress landscape has seen massive regulatory changes recently, giving the Ombudsman much sharper teeth and making it easier for households to get a fair result.

Legally binding enforcement powers

If you accept an Ombudsman decision, it is legally binding and the supplier normally has 28 days to provide the remedy. If it remains outstanding after that period, you can pursue implementation through the courts. In June 2026, the government also announced further reforms intended to strengthen redress enforcement, but these still need to be implemented.

Reduced waiting times

Consumers currently normally wait eight weeks after complaining to their supplier before they can ask the Ombudsman for help. In June 2026, the government announced plans to reduce the escalation window to six weeks and to aim for decisions within four weeks, with a possible later reduction of the escalation window to four weeks.

Energy broker regulation

The government has stated its intention to appoint Ofgem to regulate third-party intermediaries, commonly known as energy brokers. This is designed to stamp out predatory sales tactics and protect small businesses, giving them a clearer route to dispute resolution when brokers mis-sell contracts.

How to escalate a complaint

You cannot take a problem straight to the Energy Ombudsman the moment it happens. There is a strict escalation process you have to follow. The Ombudsman will only step in once the supplier has had a fair chance to fix the mistake themselves.

How to build a strong case

Because the Ombudsman is strictly impartial, they act as an independent judge. They will not build a case on your behalf or hunt for evidence that you have not provided. The trade-off for using the service is that you have to invest the time to gather clear proof yourself.

To give yourself the best chance of a fair decision, you need to show exactly what went wrong and how it affected you. Before you open your case, gather the following:

When you submit your complaint through the Ombudsman's online portal, you will be asked to upload this supporting evidence. You usually have a set window, such as 14 days, to provide everything they need to start the investigation.

What are the possible outcomes?

When the Ombudsman finishes their investigation, they will issue a decision. If they decide the energy supplier was in the wrong, they can order the company to take several different actions to put things right. The Ombudsman does not just award money; they focus on practical solutions too.

Once the Ombudsman makes an offer, you have the choice to accept or reject it. If you accept it, the decision becomes legally binding on the supplier. If you reject it, you lose the Ombudsman's resolution, but you retain your right to take the supplier to court yourself.

What is the difference between Ofgem and the Ombudsman?

People often confuse Ofgem and the Energy Ombudsman, but they have completely different roles. If you have a specific problem with your own account, you need the Ombudsman, not Ofgem.

Ofgem is the government regulator for the energy industry in Great Britain. It sets the rules, oversees the price cap, and ensures fair competition. If an energy company breaks the rules on a massive scale, Ofgem can issue multi-million-pound fines. However, Ofgem cannot and will not intervene in an individual customer's dispute.

The Energy Ombudsman handles those individual, day-to-day disputes. They look at your specific account, your specific bills, and award personal compensation directly to you. While Ofgem oversees the Ombudsman to make sure the system works, the two bodies handle entirely different parts of the market.