By Brian Donnelly @BrianDonnellyHT Business Correspondent
A SCOTS energy firm is to pay back cash after administrative errors led to
it receiving more than £4 million more than it was entitled to under a
renewable energy scheme.
Perth-based energy giant SSE is to pay out upwards of £705,000 after the
administrative mistakes meant it had overinflated its renewable energy
payments status.
The Scottish Hydro Electric owner will pay the cash to the feed-in tariffs
levelisation fund and in redress after overstating to Ofgem the costs it
incurred through making payments to eligible low carbon generators.
As a result of the error, the supplier received £4.07m more than it was
entitled to in payments from the annual fund.
The feed-in tariffs scheme, a government programme, is designed to promote
the uptake of renewable and low-carbon electricity generation technologies.
The scheme requires participating licensed electricity suppliers to make
payments on both generation and export from eligible installations.
SSE reported the error to Ofgem and has paid back the overpayment. The
supplier has agreed to pay a further £455,705 in interest to the fund.
It has also agreed to pay £250,000 to Ofgem’s voluntary redress scheme to
help support vulnerable customers.
An independent audit has been carried out to identify the causes of the
error, the company told the London Stock Exchange.
It recommended actions to improve SSE’s reporting processes in the scheme
and reduce the risk of future non-compliance, which SSE is currently
implementing.
It was given a stipulation to report the outcomes of its changes to Ofgem.
The watchdog said: “Ofgem has now closed this compliance case without
taking enforcement action, taking into account the steps SSE has taken to
address its failings and the redress it has agreed to pay.”
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